



i.'wWCi BMDflK OODQBOh WfWnninfftfrjiJIfflffnnTfirTTi 








; v > r ■■■■■■ * ■ ■■ 

-.'j:;.;--;: EBB 

■ mSSSSmma 




^h I^B H esse 
HgBg bEBbb 




nm 




"O 












<■;■ 



«K 






C- \> 



w 



V*' 









«/' 






IPS? 



vV </> 



^ ^ x 



k* 









x\ x 


















1 






SWEDISH REVOLUTION 



UNDER 



GUSTAVUS VASA 



THE 



SWEDISH REVOLUTION 



UNDER 



GUSTAVUS VASA 



BY 



PAUL BARRON WATSON 

AUTHOR OF "MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS" AND MEMBER OF 
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 







BOSTON 
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 

1889 



Copyright, 1889, 
By Paul Barron Watson. 






University Press: 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 



PKEFACE. 



1VT0 name in history lies deeper in Swedish! 
^ ^ hearts than the name Gustavus Vasa. Lib- 
erator of Sweden from the yoke of Denmark, and 
founder of one of the foremost dynasties of Eu- 
rope, his people during more than three centuries 
have looked back fondly to the figure of their r 
great ruler, and cherished with tender reverence 
every incident in his romantic history. This en- 
thusiasm for Gustavus Vasa is more than sentiment; 
it belongs to him as leader in a vast political up- 
heaval. When Gustavus came upon the stage, 
the Swedish people had long been groaning under 
a foreign despotism. During more than a cen- 
tury their political existence had been ignored, 
their rights as freemen trampled in the dust. 
They had at last been goaded into a spirit of 
rebellion, and were already struggling to be free. 
What they most needed was a leader with cour- 
age to summon them to arms, and with persever- 



VI PREFACE. 

ance to keep them in the field. Possessing these 
traits beyond all others, Gustavus called his 
people forth to war, and finally brought them 
through the war to victory. This revolution 
extended over a period of seven years, — from 
the uprising of the Dalesmen in 1521 to the cor- 
onation of Gustavus in 1528. It is a period that 
should be of interest, not only to the student of 
history, but also to the lover of romance. In 
order to render the exact nature of the struggle 
clear, I have begun the narrative at a time con- 
siderably before the revolution, though I have 
not entered deeply into details till the beginning 
of the war in 1521. By the middle of the year 
1523, when Gustavus was elected king, actual 
warfare had nearly ceased, and the scenes of the 
drama change from the battle-field to the legis- 
lative chamber. In this period occurred the 
crowning act of the revolution; namely, the 
banishment of the Romish Church and clergy. 

The history of the Swedish Revolution has 
never before been written in the English lan- 
guage. Even Gustavus Vasa is but little known 
outside his native land. Doubtless this is due in 
large measure to the difficulties which beset a 
study of the period. It is not a period to which 
the student of literature can turn with joy. One 



PREFACE. vii 

who would know Gustavus well must traverse a 
vast desert of dreary reading, and pore over 
many volumes of verbose despatches before he 
can find a drop of moisture to relieve the arid 
soil. Sweden in the early part of the sixteenth 
century was not fertile in literary men. Gus- 
tavus himself, judged by any rational standard, 
was an abominable writer. His despatches are 
in number almost endless and in length appalling. 
Page after page he runs on, seemingly with no 
other object than to use up time. Often a docu- 
ment covers four folios, which might easily have 
been compressed into a single sentence. Such 
was the habit of the age. A simple letter from a 
man to his wife consisted mainly of a mass of 
stereotyped expressions of respect. Language 
was used apparently to conceal vacuity of mind. 
Toward the close of the monarch's reign there 
was a marked improvement in literary style, and 
some few works of that period possess real worth. 
These have recently been printed, and as a rule 
have been edited with considerable care. The 
king's despatches are also being systematically 
printed by the authorities of the Royal Archives 
at Stockholm, and the cloud of ignorance which 
has hitherto hung over the head of Sweden's 
early monarch is lifting fast. The tenth volume 



Vlll PREFACE. 

of the king's despatches, known as Gustaf L's 
registrator has now been published, carrying this 
contemporary transcript of the king's letters 
down to the summer of 1535. The only docu- 
ments bearing on the Swedish Revolution and not 
yet published, are the MSS. known as Gustaf I? s 
radslagar, Gustaf I.'s acta historica, and Gustaf Us 
href med bilagor, — all to be found in the Royal 
Archives at Stockholm, — and the MSS. known 
as the Palmskiold samlingar in the Upsala Library. 
All these I have carefully examined. I have also 
browsed during several months among the libra- 
ries of Sweden, and have spared no pains to get 
at everything, written or printed, contemporary 
or subsequent, that might throw light upon the 
subject. The most important of these materials 
are mentioned in the bibliography inserted im- 
mediately before the Index to this work. In 
order to add vividness as well as accuracy to the 
narrative, I have visited personally nearly all the 
battle-fields and other spots connected with this 
history. My descriptions of the leading contem- 
poraries of Gustavus are based on a careful study 
of the portraits in the Gripsholm gallery, most of 4 
which were painted from life. 

Finally, a word of thanks is due to the libraries 
and archives from which I have derived most aid. 



PREFACE. ix 

Of these the chief are the British Museum, the 
University Library at Upsala, and above all, the 
Royal Library and the Royal Archives at Stock- 
holm. To the last two institutions I owe more 
than I can express. They are the storehouses 
of Swedish history, and their doors were thrown 
open to me with a generosity and freedom beyond 
all that I could hope. I wish here to thank my 
many friends, the custodians of these treasures, 
for the personal encouragement and assistance 
they have lent me in the prosecution of this 
work. 

August 15, 1889. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter I. 

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 1496-1513. 

Page 
Birth of Gustavus. — His Ancestors. — Anarchy in Sweden. — Its 

Causes : Former Independence of the People ; Growth of Christi- 
anity ; Growth of the Aristocracy ; the Cabinet ; Enslavement of 
Sweden ; Eevolt of the People against Denmark. — Christiern I. — 
Sten Sture. — Hans. — Svante Sture. — Sten Sture the Younger. 
— Childhood of Gustavus. — His Education at Upsala .... 1 

Chapter II. 

FIRST MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS ; 
A PRISONER IN DENMARK, 1514-1519. 

Description of Stockholm. — Christina Gyllenstjerna. — Hemming 
Gad. — Christiern II. — Gustaf Trolle. — Dissension between Sten 
Sture and Gustaf Trolle. — Siege of Staket. — First Expedition 
of Christiern II. against Sweden. — Trial of the Archbishop. — 
Arcimboldo. — Second Expedition of Christiern II. against Swe- 
den. — Capture of Gustavus Vasa. — Resignation of the Arch- 
bishop. — Hostilities of Christiern II. — Farewell of Arcimboldo. 28 

Chapter III. 

FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS ; UPRISING OF THE 
DALESMEN. 1519-1521. 

Escape of Gustavus from Denmark. — Lubeck. —Return of Gusta- 
vus to Sweden. — Excommunication of Sture. — Invasion of 



Xll CONTENTS. 

Page 
Sweden. — Death of Sture. — Dissolution of the Swedish Army. 

— Heroism of Christina. — Battle of Upsala. — Gustavus at Kal- 
mar. — Fall of Stockholm. — Coronation of Christiern II. — 
Slaughter of the Swedes. — Flight of Gustavus to Dalarne. — 
Efforts to rouse the Dalesmen. — Gustavus chosen Leader . . 59 

Chapter IV. 

WAR OF INDEPENDENCE ; ELECTION OF GUSTAVUS 
TO THE THRONE. 1521-1523 

Causes of the "War. — Character of the Dalesmen. — Growth of the 
Patriot Army. — Didrik Slagheck. — Battle of Koping. — Capt- 
ure of Vesteras ; of Upsala. — Skirmish with Trolle. — Skirmishes 
near Stockholm. — Siege of Stegeborg. — Norby. — Rensel. — 
Brask. — Progress of the War. — Coinage of Gustavus. — Chris- 
tiern's Troubles in Denmark. — Siege of Stockholm. — Fall of 
Kalmar. — Diet of Strengnas. — Fall of Stockholm. — Retrospect 
of the War 90 

Chapter V. 

BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 1523-1524. 

Nature of the Reformation in Europe. — Cause of the Reformation 
in Sweden. — The Debt to Lubeck. — Riches of the Church. — 
Relations of Gustavus to the Pope. — Johannes Magni. — New 
Taxation — Dissension among the People. — Opposition of Gus- 
tavus to the Pope. — Trial of Peder Sunnanvader. — Expedition 
against Gotland. — Repudiation of the " Klippings." — Berent 
von Mehlen. — Negotiations between Fredrik and Norby. — Con- 
gress of Malmo. — Efforts to appease the People. — Lutheranism. 

— Olaus Petri. — Laurentius Andrese. — Brask's Efforts to re- 
press Heresy. — Religious Tendencies of Gustavus. — Character 

of Brask 118 

Chapter VI. 

RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 1524-1525. 

Riot of the Anabaptists. — Contest between Olaus Petri and Peder 
Galle. — Marriage of Petri. — Conspiracy of Norby ; of Christina 



CONTENTS. xiii 

Page 
Gyllenstjerna ; of Mehlen ; of Sunnanvader. — Attitude of Fredrik 

to Gustavus. — Proposition of Gustavus to resign the Crown. — 

Norby's Incursion into Bleking. — Surrender of Visby. — Flight 

of Mehlen. — Fall of Kalmar 165 

Chapter VII. 

DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 1525-1527. 

Negotiations between Fredrik and Gustavus. — Treachery of Norby. 
— Sunnanvader and the Cabinet of Norway. — Overthrow and 
Death of Norby. — Trial and Execution of Knut and Sunnan- 
vader. — Debt to Lubeck. — Treaty with Russia ; with the Nether- 
lands. — Dalarne and the Lubeck Envoys. — Swedish Property in 
Denmark. — Province of Viken. — Refugees in Norway . . . 190 

Chapter VIII. 

INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 1525-1527. 

Nature of the Period. — Translation of the Bible. — Quarrel between 
the King and Brask. — Opposition to the Monasteries. — High- 
handed Measures of the King. — Second Disputation between Petri 
and Galle. — Opposition to Luther's Teaching. — Banishment of 
Magni. — Further Opposition to the Monasteries. — Revolt of the 
Dalesmen. — Diet of Vesteras. — " Vesteras Recess." — " Vesteras 
Ordinantia."— Fall of Brask ; his Flight ; his Character ... 220 

Chapter IX. 

CORONATION OF THE KING. 1528. 

Reasons for Delay of the Coronation. — Preparations for the Cere- 
mony. — Consecration of the Bishops. — Coronation Festival. — 
Retrospect of the Revolution. — Character of Gustavus . . . 268 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 277 

INDEX 293 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

Seal of Bishop Brask. Bears the inscription : S[IGILLVM] 
IOH[ANN]IS DEI GRA[CIA] EPI[SCOPI] LINCOPENSIS . 103 

" Klipping" issued by Gustavus Vasa in 1521 or 1522. On one side, 
the bust of a man in armor. On the other, crowns and arrows, 
with the inscription : ERI[KS]SO[N] 107 

Medal struck in commemoration of the deliverance of Sweden in 
1522. On one side, a half-length figure of Gustavus Vasa, with the 
date 1522 and the inscription : GVSTAF ERICSEN G[VBER- 
NATOR] RT_EGNI] S[VECIAE]. On the other, crowns and ar- 
rows, with the inscription : PROTEGE NOS IESV 116 

Coin issued in Stockholm in 1522. On one side, the inscription: GOS- 
TA[F] ERI[KS] SO[N] 1522, and in the centre, G[VBERNA- 
TOR]. On the other, a crown, with the inscription : MONET [A] 
STO[C]KHOLM[ENSIS] 122 

Coin issued in Stockholm in 1522. On one side, a full-length figure, 
with the inscription : S[ANCTVS] ERICVS REX SWECIEI. 
On the other, crowns and arrows, with the inscription : MONE- 
[TA] STO[C]KHOLM[ENSIS] 1522 122 

Coin issued in Stockholm in 1522 or 1523. On one side, three 
crowns, with the inscription : S[ANCTVS] ERICVS REX SVE- 
[CIAE]. On the other, the inscription : MONET A STOC[K]- 
HO[LMENSIS] 122 

Coin issued in Upsala in 1523. On one side, a bust with arrows 
and sheaves of corn, and the inscription : S[ANCTVS] ERICVS 
REX SWECIE. On the other, three crowns, with the inscrip- 
tion : MONE[TA] NOVA VPSAL[ENSIS] 1523 123 



XVI ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 
Coin issued in Vesteras in 1523. On one side, a crown, with the 
inscription : GOST[AF] REX SWECIE. On the other, three 
crowns, with the inscription : MONE[TA] NOVA WESTAR- 
[OSIENSIS] 123 

Coin issued at the coronation of Gustavus Vasa in 1528. On one 
side, a full-length figure of the king, with crown, sword, and 
sceptre, and the inscription : GOSTAVS D[EI] G[RACIA] 
SVECORVM REX. On the other, the inscription : MONET[A] 
NOVA STO[CJK[HJOL[MENSIS] 1528 272. 



THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION, 



Chapter I. 

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 1496-1513. 

Birth of Gustavus. — His Ancestors. — Anarchy in Sweden. — Its Causes : 
Former Independence of the People ; Growth of Christianity ; Growth 
of the Aristocracy ; the Cabinet ; Enslavement of Sweden ; Eevolt of 
the People against Denmark. — Christiern I. — Sten Sture. — Hans. — 
Svante Sture. — Sten Sture the Younger. — Childhood of Gustavus. 
— His Education at Upsala. 

THE manor of Lindholm lies in the centre of a 
smiling district about twenty miles north of the 
capital of Sweden. Placed on a height between two 
fairy lakes, it commands a wide and varied prospect 
over the surrounding country. The summit of this 
height was crowned, at the close of the fifteenth cen- 
tury, by a celebrated mansion. Time and the ravages 
of man have long since thrown this mansion to the 
ground ; but its foundation, overgrown with moss and 
fast crumbling to decay, still marks the site of the 
ancient structure, and from the midst of the ruins 
rises a rough-hewn stone bearing the name Gustavus 
Vasa. On this spot he was born, May 12, 1496. 1 The 

1 With regard to the date of his birth our authorities are hope- 
lessly confused. Karl IX., whom we should expect to know some- 
thing about it, says, in his Rim-chron., p. 2, that his father was 

1 



2 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

estate was then the property of his grandmother, Sigrid 
Baner, with whom his mother was temporarily residing, 
and there is no reason to think it continued long the 
home of the young Gustavus. 

The family from which Gustavus sprang had been, 
during nearly a hundred years, one of the foremost 
families of Sweden. Its coat-of-arms consisted of a 

seventy-three at his death, whence we should conclude that he was 
born in 1487. But Svart, who was nearer the king's age, and was 
also the king's confessor and preacher to the court, says, in his 
Gust. I.'s kron., p. 1, that Gustavus was born in 1495, on Ascension 
day ; which in that year, he adds, fell on the 12th of May. Tegel, 
Then stoormecht., p. 1, agrees that he was born on Ascension day, and 
also that he was born on the 12 th of May, but gives, as the year, 1490. 
Ludvigsson, Collect., p. 83, agrees with Tegel about the year, but says 
nothing about the day. Now, it is noteworthy that while the authori- 
ties name three different years, all of them who mention the day agree 
that it was Ascension day, which in the year of his birth fell on May 
12. Here, then, we have a clew. In 1487 Ascension day fell on May 
24, in 1490 on May 21, and in 1495 on May 29 ; but, singularly enough, 
in 1485, in 1491, and in 1496 it fell on May 12. The years 1485 and 
1491 must be discarded as too early ; for the mother of Gustavus was 
then not old enough to have a child, her parents not having married 
till 1475. This is proved by the grant of dowry from her father to 
her mother, which, according to the old law of Sweden, was made on 
the day following the marriage. This grant, dated Jan. 16, 1475, with 
the seals of Magnus Karlsson and witnesses attached, is still preserved 
among the parchment MSS. in the Royal Archives at Stockholm. It 
reads thus : " Jack Magens Karlsson i Ekae aff wapn gor vitherligat 
och oppenbare thet jack meth mynae f renders och neste wenners 
godwilge oc samtyckae vpa rette hindersdagh' haffwer wntt och giff- 
wet . . . min elskelikae hustro Siggrid Eskelsdatter efter skrefne gotz 
till heder och morgengaffwer . . . Som giffwit ok giortt er pa Ekae 
gard mandagen nest fore sancti Henrici Episcopi dagh anno domini 
MCDLXXV." Hence the only possible date of the boy's birth is 
May 12, 1496 ; and this, as we shall see further on, harmonizes better 
than any other date with his later history. 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 3 

simple vase, or bundle of sticks ; and the Vasa estate, at 
one time the residence of his ancestors, lay only about 
ten miles to the north of Lindholm. 1 The first Yasa of 
whom anything is definitely known is Kristiern Nilsson, 
the great-grandfather of Gustavus. This man became 
noted in the early part of the fifteenth century as an 
ardent monarchist, and under Erik held the post of 
chancellor. After the fall of his master, in 1436, his 
office was taken from him, but he continued to battle 
for the cause of royalty until his death. Of the chan- 
cellor's three sons, the two eldest followed zealously in 
the footsteps of their father. The other, Johan Kris- 
tersson, though in early life a stanch supporter of King 
Christiern, and one of the members of his Cabinet, later 
married a sister of Sten Sture, and eventually embraced 
the Swedish cause. Birgitta, the wife of Johan Kris- 
tersson, is said to have been descended from the ancient 
Swedish kings. 2 The youngest son of Johan and Bir- 
gitta was Erik Johansson, the father of Gustavus. Of 
Erik's early history we know little more than that he 
married Cecilia, daughter of Magnus Karlsson and 
Sigrid Baner, and settled at Rydboholm, an estate which 

1 Originally the Vasa arms were black, the bundle of sticks repre- 
senting one of the old fascines used in warfare to fill up ditches. Gus- 
tavus changed the color of his arms to gold, and altered the old fascine 
into a sheaf of grain. 

2 Svart, Ahrapred., pp. 46-47 ; and Tegel, Then stoormecht., pp. 1-2. 
On this point our authorities agree. Tegel gives a table showing 
Birgitta to have been a great-granddaughter of Karl Ulfsson, who, ac- 
cording to the same table, was a great-grandson of King Erik X. As 
the descent is traced through a line of females about whom history is 
silent, we lack the means with which to disprove the assertion of our 
chroniclers. 



4 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

he inherited from his father. To this place, beautifully 
situated on an arm of the Baltic, about ten miles north- 
east of the capital, Cecilia returned with her little boy 
from Lindholm ; and here Gustavus spent the first years 
of his childhood. 

Sweden at this period was in a state of anarchy. In 
order to appreciate the exact condition of affairs, it 
will be necessary to cast a glance at some political 
developments that had gone before. Sweden was ori- 
ginally a confederation of provinces united solely for 
purposes of defence. Each province was divided into 
several counties, which were constituted in the main 
alike. Every inhabitant — if we except the class of 
slaves, which was soon abolished — was either a land- 
owner or a tenant. The tenants were freemen who 
owned no land of their own, and hence rented the land 
of others. All landowners possessed the same rights, 
though among them were certain men of high birth, who 
through their large inheritances were much more influ- 
ential than the rest. Matters concerning the inhabitants 
of one county only were regulated by the county assem- 
blies, to which all landowners in the county, and none 
others, were admitted. These assemblies were called 
and presided over by the county magistrate, elected by 
general vote at some previous assembly. All law cases 
arising in the county were tried before the assembly, 
judgment being passed, with consent of the assembly, 
by the county magistrate, who was expected to know 
and expound the traditional law of his county. Ques- 
tions concerning the inhabitants of more than one 
county were regulated by the provincial assemblies, 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 5 

composed of all landowners in the province, and pre- 
sided over by the provincial magistrate, elected by all 
the landowners in his province. The power of the pro- 
vincial magistrate in the province was similar to that 
of the county magistrate in the county ; and to his judg- 
ment, with consent of the assembly, lay an appeal from 
every decision of the county magistrates. Above all 
the provinces was a king, elected originally by the pro- 
vincial assembly of Upland, though in order to gain 
the allegiance of the other provinces he was bound to 
appear before their individual assemblies and be con- 
firmed by them. His duty was expressed in the old 
formula, " landom rada, rike styre, lag styrke, och frid 
halla," which meant nothing more than that he was to 
protect the provinces from one another and from foreign 
powers. In order to defray the expense of strength- 
ening the kingdom, he was entitled to certain definite 
taxes from every landowner, and half as much from 
every tenant, in the land. These taxes he collected 
through his courtiers, who in the early days were men of 
a very inferior class, — mere servants of the king. They 
lived on the crown estates, which we find in the very 
earliest times scattered through the land. Besides his 
right to collect taxes, the king, as general peacemaker, 
was chief-justice of the realm, and to him lay an appeal 
from every decision rendered by a provincial magis- 
trate. Such, in brief, was the constitution of Sweden 
when first known in history. 

Christianity, first preached in Sweden about the year 
830, brought with it a diminution of the people's rights. 
When the episcopal dioceses were first marked out, the 



6 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

people naturally kept in their own hands the right to 
choose their spiritual rulers, who were designated lydbis- 
kopar, or the people's bishops. But in 1164 the Court of 
Rome succeeded in establishing, under its own authority, 
an archbishopric at Upsala; and by a papal bull of 
1250 the choice of Swedish bishops was taken from the 
people and confided to the cathedral chapters under the 
supervision of the pope. As soon as the whole country 
became converted, the piety of the people induced them 
to submit to gross impositions at the hands of those 
whom they were taught to regard as God's represen- 
tatives on earth. In 1152 the so-called " Peter's Pen- 
ning" was established, an annual tax of one penning 
from every individual to the pope. Besides this, it be- 
came the law, soon after, that all persons must pay a 
tenth of their annual income to the Church, and in 
addition there were special taxes to the various bishops, 
deans, and pastors. A still more productive source of 
revenue to the Church was death-bed piety, through 
which means a vast amount of land passed from kings 
or wealthy individuals to the Church. By a law of the 
year 1200 the clergy were declared no longer subject to 
be tried for crime in temporal courts ; and by the end of 
the thirteenth century the Church had practically ceased 
to be liable for crown taxation. It requires but a mo- 
ment's thought to perceive how heavy a burden all these 
changes threw on the body of the nation. 

Simultaneously with the spread of Christianity still 
another power began to trample on the liberties of the 
people. This was the power of the sword. In early 
times, before civilization had advanced enough to give 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 7 

everybody continuous employment, most people spent 
their leisure moments in making war. Hence the Swe- 
dish kings, whose duty it was to keep the peace, could 
accomplish that result only by having a large retinue 
of armed warriors at their command. The expense 
which this entailed was great. Meantime the crown 
estates had continually increased in number through 
merger of private estates of different kings, through 
crown succession to estates of foreigners dying without 
descendants in the realm, and through other sources. 
Some of the kings, therefore, devised the scheme of en- 
listing the influential aristocracy in their service by 
granting them fiefs in the crown estates, with right 
to all the crown incomes from the fief. This plan was 
eagerly caught at by the aristocrats, and before long 
nearly all the influential people in the realm were in the 
service of the king. Thus the position of royal courtier, 
which had formerly been a mark of servitude, was now 
counted an honor, the courtiers being now commonly 
known as magnates. About the year 1200 castles were 
first erected on some of the crown estates, and the 
magnates who held these castles as fiefs were not slow 
to take advantage of their power. Being already the 
most influential men in their provinces, and generally 
the county or provincial magistrates, they gradually 
usurped the right to govern the surrounding territory, 
not as magistrates of the people, but as grantees of the 
crown estates. Since these fiefs were not hereditary, 
the rights usurped by the holders of them passed, on 
the death of the grantees, to the crown, and in 1276 we 
find a king granting not only one of his royal castles, 



8 THE SWEDISH KE VOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

but also right of administration over the surrounding 
land. Thus, by continual enlargement of the royal fiefs, 
the authority of the provincial assemblies, and even of 
the county assemblies, was practically destroyed. Still, 
these assemblies continued to exist, and in them the poor 
landowners claimed the same rights as the more influ- 
ential magnates. The magnates, as such, possessed no 
privileges, and were only powerful because of their 
wealth, which enabled them to become courtiers or war- 
riors of the king. In 1280, however, a law was passed 
exempting all mounted courtiers from crown taxation. 
This law was the foundation of the nobility of Sweden. 
It divided the old landowners, formerly all equal, into 
two distinct classes, — the knights, who were the mounted 
warriors of the king; and the poorer landowners, on whom, 
together with the class of tenants, was cast the whole 
burden of taxation. With the progress of time, exemp- 
tion from crown taxation was extended to the sons of 
knights unless, on reaching manhood, they failed to 
serve the king with horse. The knights were thus a 
privileged and hereditary class. Those of the old mag- 
nates who did not become knights were known as armi- 
gers, or armor-clad foot-soldiers. The armigers also 
became an hereditary class, and before long they too 
were exempted from crown taxation. In many cases 
the armigers were raised to the rank of knights. Thus 
the wealthy landowners increased in power, while the 
poor, who constituted the great body of the nation, grew 
ever poorer. Many, to escape the taxes shifted to their 
shoulders from the shoulders of the magnates, sank into 
the class of tenants, with whom, indeed, they now had 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 9 

much in common. The sword had raised the strong 
into a privileged aristocracy, and degraded the weak 
into a down-trodden peasantry. 

The aristocracy and the Church, — these were the 
thorns that sprang up to check the nation's growth. 
Each had had the same source, — a power granted by the 
people. But no sooner were they independent of their 
benefactors, than they made common cause in oppress- 
ing the peasantry who had given them birth. They 
found their point of union in the Cabinet. This was 
originally a body of men whom the king summoned 
whenever he needed counsel or support. Naturally he 
sought support among the chief men of his realm. As 
the power of the Church and aristocracy increased, the 
king was practically forced to summon the chief per- 
sons in these classes to his Cabinet, and furthermore, 
in most cases, to follow their advice ; so that by the 
close of the thirteenth century the Cabinet had become 
a regular institution, whose members, known as Cabi- 
net lords, governed rather than advised the king. In 
the early part of the fourteenth century this institution 
succeeded in passing a law that each new king must 
summon his Cabinet immediately after his election. 
The same law provided that no foreigner could be a 
member of the Cabinet ; that the archbishop should be 
ex officio a member ; that twelve laymen should be sum- 
moned, but no more ; and that, in addition, the king 
might summon as many of the bishops and clergy as 
he wished. As a matter of fact this law was never fol- 
lowed. The Cabinet lords practically formed them- 
selves into a close corporation, appointing their own 



10 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

successors or compelling the king to appoint whom 
they desired. Generally the members were succeeded 
by their sons, and in very many instances we find 
fathers and sons sitting in the Cabinet together. A 
person once a Cabinet lord was such for life. The 
law providing that the archbishop should have a seat 
in the Cabinet was strictly followed, and in practice 
the bishops were also always members. The other 
clergy seem never to have been summoned except in 
certain instances to aid their bishops or represent them 
when they could not come. The provincial magistrates 
were generally members, though not always. As to the 
number of temporal lords, it was almost invariably 
more than twelve, sometimes double as many. From the 
very first, this self-appointed oligarchy saw that in unity 
was strength; and while the different members of the 
royal family were squabbling among themselves, the 
Cabinet seized the opportunity to increase its power. 
Though not entitled to a definite salary, it was regu- 
larly understood that Cabinet lords were to be paid by 
grants of the chief fiefs ; and when these fiefs were ex- 
tended so as to embrace the whole, or nearly the whole, 
of a province, the grant of such a fief ordinarily carried 
with it the office of provincial magistrate. Thus the 
Cabinet became the centre of administration for the king- 
dom. From this it gradually usurped the right to legis- 
late for the whole realm, to lay new taxes on the people, 
and to negotiate treaties with foreign powers. Lastly, 
it robbed the people of their ancient right to nominate 
and confirm their kings. These prerogatives, however, 
were not exercised without strong opposition. Through- 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 11 

out the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the peasantry 
battled with vigor against the arrogant assumptions 
of the Cabinet, never relinquishing their claim to be 
governed as of yore. This struggle against the en- 
croachments of the oligarchy at last resulted in the 
revolution under Gustavus Vasa. Hence we may with 
profit trace the relation between the Cabinet and the 
people from the start. 

The first case in which the Cabinet distinctly asserted 
an authority over the whole land occurred in 1319, when 
the king, after a long and bitter struggle with different 
members of the royal house, had finally been driven 
from the throne. The Cabinet then resolved to place 
the crown on the head of the former monarch's grand- 
son, a child but three years old. With this in view, 
they called all the magnates in the realm and four peas- 
ants from every county to a general diet, where the 
chancellor of the Cabinet stepped forward with the 
infant in his arms, and moved that this infant be 
elected king. " Courtiers, peasantry, and all with one 
accord responded, ' Amen.' " This was the first gen- 
eral diet held in Sweden, and it showed a marked de- 
cline in the people's rights. From beginning to end 
the proceedings of this diet were regulated by the Cab- 
inet, and the people were practically forced to acquiesce. 
Even had the people possessed a real voice in the elec- 
tion, their influence would have been far less than for- 
merly, since here they had but four representatives from 
each county against the entire class of magnates, where- 
as originally every landowner, whether magnate or peas- 
ant, had an equal vote. During the minority of this 



12 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

king the power of the Cabinet made rapid strides. He 
was forced to borrow from them enormous sums of 
money, for which he mortgaged nearly all the royal 
castles ; so that when he came of age he was thor- 
oughly under the dominion of the Cabinet. He strug- 
gled hard, however, to shake off his shackles, and with 
some success. Among other things, he passed a law 
which was intended to restore to the people at large 
their ancient right to choose their kings. This law pro- 
vided that whenever a king was to be chosen, each 
provincial magistrate, with the assent of all landowners 
in his province, should select twelve men, who on a day 
appointed were to meet in general diet with all the mag- 
istrates, and choose the king. Unhappily this law was 
never followed, though the king by whom it was en- 
acted struggled hard to maintain the people's rights. 
In 1359, after a series of internal disorders, his Cabi- 
net compelled him to call a meeting of all the magnates 
in the realm ; but in addition to the magnates he sum- 
moned also delegates from the peasantry and burghers, 
evidently with a view to gain their aid in curbing the 
insolence of the Cabinet. This was the second gen- 
eral diet. From this time forth the king did all he 
could to strengthen the people, until at last he banished 
a number of his chief opponents. They thereupon, in 
1363, offered the crown to Albert of Mecklenburg, who 
by their aid succeeded in overthrowing the king and 
getting possession of the throne. For a time now the 
Cabinet had things nearly as they wished. In 1371 
they forced the king to grant them all the royal estates 
as fiefs, and to declare that on the death of any one of 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 13 

them his successor should be chosen by the survivors. 
This astounding grant the Cabinet owed chiefly to the 
influence of their chancellor, Bo Jonsson, who had done 
more than any other to set Albert on the throne ; and to 
him were granted as fiefs all the royal castles. In 1386 
he died, leaving all his fiefs, by will, to the chief mag- 
nates of the land. Against this Albert ventured to 
protest. He called in a large number of his German 
countrymen, and by their aid recovered a large portion 
of his power. He then began distributing royal favors 
among them with a lavish hand, to the detriment of the 
Swedish magnates. These magnates therefore turned, 
in 1388, to Margaret, regent of Denmark and Norway, 
and offered her the regency of Sweden, promising to 
recognize as king whomever she should choose. In 1389 
she entered Sweden with her army, overthrew King Al- 
bert, and got possession of the throne. In 1396 the Swe- 
dish Cabinet, at her desire, elected her nephew, Erik of 
Pomerania, already king of Denmark and Norway, to be 
king of Sweden ; and on the 17th of June, 1397, he was 
crowned at Kalmar. 1 Thus began the celebrated Kalmar 



-o l 



1 Until recently, historians have asserted that Margaret, at the coro- 
nation of her nephew, signed a document providing, among other things, 
that* the three kingdoms were thereafter to be governed by a single 
sovereign, to be elected alternately, if his predecessor died childless, 
by each kingdom; that, in case of war in one kingdom, both the others 
were to come to the rescue ; and that each kingdom was to be governed 
strictly according to its own laws. As a matter of fact, Margaret 
signed nothing of the kind. The document which gave rise to this 
error is still to be seen in the Private Archives at Copenhagen. It is 
dated at Kalmar, July 20, 1397, purports to be the work of sixteen of 
the chief Swedish magnates, and declares that unless the terms which 
it contains are drawn up in six copies, signed by the king, the regeut, 



14 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

Union, one of the greatest political blunders that a nation 
ever made. It was the voluntary enslavement of a whole 
people to suit the whims of a few disgruntled magnates. 

The century following this catastrophe was marked 
by violence and bloodshed. In all the setting up and 
pulling down of kings which ended in the Kalmar Union, 
the Swedish peasantry, now the body of the nation, had 
had no part. They had long watched in silence the 
overpowering growth of the magnates and of the Church ; 
they had seen their own rights gradually, but surely, 
undermined ; and they now beheld the whole nation 
given into the hand of a foreign king. All this tyranny 
was beginning to produce its natural effect. A spirit of 
rebellion was spreading fast. However, open insurrec- 
tion was for the moment averted by the prudence of the 
regent ; so long as she lived the people were tolerably 
content. She ruled the Cabinet with an iron hand, and 
refused to appoint a chancellor, the officer who had 
hitherto done much to bind the Cabinet together. After 
her death Erik attempted to carry out a similar policy, 
and introduced a number of foreigners into the Swedish 
Cabinet. But his continual absence from the realm 
weakened his administration, and gave great license 

the Cabinet, and others, there shall be no lawful union. These six 
copies, so far as we know, were never drawn up or signed. But un- 
happily the union had been already formed at the coronation a month 
before, and, seven days before, these very magnates with fifty-one other 
persons had attached their seals to an affidavit of allegiance to their new 
king. This affidavit, dated at Kalmar, July 13, 1397, is also still pre- 
served in the Private Archives at Copenhagen. Both documents are 
printed in full in 0. S. Rydberg's Sverges traktater med frammande 
magter, Stockh., 1877-1883, 2 vols. 8vo, vol. ii. pp. 560-585. 






1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 15 

to his officers, who by their cruelty won the hatred of 
the people. At last, in 1433, the peasantry of Dalarne 
rebelled against the tyranny of the steward whom their 
Danish ruler had put over them, and in 1435, under the 
leadership of a courageous warrior, Engelbrekt Engel- 
brektsson, compelled the king to call a general diet, the 
first since 1359, consisting of all the people in the realm 
who cared to take part. This diet, under the enthusiasm 
of the moment, elected Engelbrekt commander of the 
kingdom. But the hopes of the peasantry were soon 
blasted. In the next year Engelbrekt was murdered by 
a Swedish magnate, and by a general diet Karl Knutsson, 
another magnate, was chosen to fill his place. King 
Erik was now tottering to his fall. He was no longer 
king in anything but name. His fall, however, benefited 
only the magnates of the realm. By a general diet of 
1438, to which all people in the realm were called, 
Knutsson was elected regent. But his reign came in 
the next year to an untimely end. His fellow-magnates, 
jealous of his power, forced him to lay it down ; and in 
1440 the Cabinet called Erik's nephew, Christopher of 
Bavaria, already king of Denmark, to the Swedish 
throne. Thus ended the first effort of the Swedish 
peasantry to throw off the Danish yoke. It had begun 
with high promises for the people, but had ended in the 
restoration of the Cabinet to all its former power. From 
this time forth the Cabinet was again practically the 
governing body in the realm. But it was no longer at 
unity with itself. One party, led by the great house of 
Oxenstjerna, was for preserving the Union. The other 
consisted of the adherents of Karl Knutsson, who hoped 



16 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

to put the crown on his own head. In 1448 King 
Christopher died, and, in the difference of feeling which 
reigned, the Cabinet called a general diet of all the 
magnates with representatives from the peasantry and 
burghers, that the people at large might choose of the 
two evils that which pleased them best. The result was 
that Karl Knutsson was elected king. From this time 
till his death, in 1470, he was in perpetual warfare with 
the king of Denmark, with the Swedish priesthood, who 
had now grown fat under Danish rule and wished to 
continue so, and with the hostile party among the mag- 
nates. Twice he was forced to lay down the crown 
only to take it up again. Throughout his reign, though 
in some regards a despot, he was, at all events, the 
champion of the Swedish magnates as opposed to those 
who favored the continuance of foreign rule. In 1470 
he died, after having intrusted Stockholm Castle to his 
nephew, Sten Sture. The dissension that now reigned 
throughout the land was great. On one side were the 
powerful Vasa and Oxenstjerna families, striving to put 
Christiern I. of Denmark on the throne. On the other 
side was Sten Sture, the Tott, Gyllenstjerna, Bonde, 
Bjelke, and Natt och Dag families, supported by the 
burgher element in Stockholm and the peasantry of 
Dalarne. With such odds on their side the issue could 
not long be doubtful. At a general diet held in 1471, 
Sten Sture was chosen regent of the kingdom. It is 
impossible to overrate the significance of this event. 
This was the first time that the burgher element played 
an important part in the election of Sweden's ruler. 
The peasantry had once before been prominent, but so 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 17 

long as the oligarchy held firmly together, their actual 
influence had been slight. Now the ranks of the oli- 
garchy were broken. One party looked for supporters 
in Denmark and in the Church ; the other, now gaining 
the upper hand, was distinctly the party of the people. 
The very name of regent, which was granted to Sten 
Sture, bears witness to the popular character of the 
movement. And this was destined to be the tendency 
of the current during the next half-century. There 
were many difficulties, however, with which the patriot 
party had to contend. In the first place, the Swedish 
party was in lack of funds. An enormous proportion of 
the kingdom was exempt from taxes, being held by 
magnates, who by this time claimed the right to inherit 
their fathers' fiefs with all the ancient privileges, but 
without the ancient duty to render military service. In 
this juncture war broke out with Russia, at the same 
time that the kingdom was continually harassed by 
Christiern, king of Denmark. It was clear that some 
new mode must be discovered for raising money. The 
peasantry were already groaning under a heavier load 
than they could bear. Sten therefore turned to some 
of the magnates, and demanded of them that they should 
give up a portion of their fiefs. They of course re- 
sisted, and his whole reign was occupied with' a struggle 
to make them yield. In 1481 Christiern, king of Den- 
mark, died, and was succeeded by his son Hans. The 
efforts of Sten Sture to curb the magnates had rendered 
him so unpopular among them, that the Swedish Cabinet 
now opened negotiations with the new king of Denmark. 
These negotiations resulted in a meeting of the Cabinets 

2 



18 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

of the three Northern kingdoms, held at Kalmar in 
1483. This body promulgated a decree, known in his- 
tory as the Kalmar Recess, accepting Hans as king of 
Sweden. To this decree Sten Sture reluctantly affixed 
his seal. The main clauses of the decree were these : 
No one in Sweden was to be held accountable for past 
opposition to King Hans ; the king was to live one year 
alternately in each kingdom ; the high posts as well as 
the fiefs of Sweden should be granted to none but 
Swedes ; and the magnates should be free to fortify their 
estates and refuse the king admittance. This decree, if 
strictly followed, would have practically freed Sweden 
from the yoke of Denmark. But as a matter of fact it 
was several years before it was destined to go into oper- 
ation at all. The Swedish Cabinet were determined 
that no step should be taken to put the decree into 
effect until certain preliminary duties were discharged ; 
among them, the cession of the island of Gotland to 
Sweden. These preliminaries Hans was in no hurry to 
perform. Meantime Sten Sture continued to act as 
regent. His path remained as rugged as before. Beset 
on all sides by enemies, each struggling for his own 
aggrandizement, Sten had all he could do to keep the 
kingdom from going to pieces. In every measure to 
increase the income of the crown he was hampered by 
the overweening power of the Cabinet, who were reluc- 
tant to give up a jot or tittle of their ill-acquired wealth. 
Chief among his opponents was the archbishop, Jacob 
Ulfsson, — a man of rare ability, but of high birth and 
far too fond of self-advancement. Another enemy, who 
ought to have been a friend, was Svante Sture, a young 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 19 

magnate of great talent, who first became imbittered 
against his illustrious namesake because the latter, on 
the death of Svante's father, in 1494, claimed that the 
fiefs which he had held should be surrendered to the 
crown. Of Erik Trolle, another opponent of Sten Sture, 
we shall see more hereafter. His strongest supporter 
was one Hemming Gad, a learned, eloquent, and daunt- 
less gentleman, who also was to play a leading role 
before many years were past. In 1493 war broke out 
again with Russia, and Hans resolved to seize this 
opportunity to make good his claims in Sweden. He 
opened negotiations once more with the disaffected 
members of the Cabinet, still hoping to make compro- 
mise with Sture; they hesitated, they promised, and 
then made new demands ; and it was in the midst of 
this elaborate trifling, while the regent was in Finland 
conducting the Russian war, that Gustavus Vasa was 
born at Lindholm. 

Affairs in Sweden were now fast coming to a crisis. 
The fitful struggle of a century had at last assumed a 
definite and unmistakable direction. All Sweden was 
now divided into two distinct and hostile camps, and to 
the dullest intellect it was clear as day that Sweden was 
soon to be the scene of open war. In the autumn of 
1496 the Cabinet, seeing that Sture was thoroughly de- 
termined to check their power, resolved to hesitate no 
longer. They therefore despatched a messenger to Hans, 
inviting him to a congress of the three realms to be held 
at midsummer of the following year, when, as they gave 
him reason to expect, the Kalmar Recess should be put 
into effect. This news being brought to Sture in Fin- 



20 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

land, he set forth post-haste for Sweden, and called a 
meeting of the Cabinet. The members failed to appear 
on the day appointed, and when at last they came, they 
were accompanied by a large body of armed retainers. 
At a session held in Stockholm on the 7th of March, 
the Cabinet declared Sture deposed, assigning as reasons, 
first, that he had mismanaged the war with Russia, and, 
secondly, that he had maltreated certain of the Swedish 
magnates. The regent waited two days before making 
a reply, and then informed the Cabinet that, as he had 
been appointed to the regency by joint action of the 
Cabinet and people, he felt bound to hold it till re- 
quested by the same powers to lay it down. The Cab- 
inet had nothing for it but to acquiesce, and letters were 
issued summoning a general diet. That diet, however, 
was never held. On the very day when the Cabinet made 
its armistice with Sture, Hans put forth a declaration of 
war, and at once proceeded with his fleet to Kalmar. The 
enemies of Sture now openly embraced the Danish cause ; 
and the regent was forced to go to Dalarne, to get to- 
gether a force with which to defend the kingdom. Here 
he was received with enthusiasm by the people, who 
saw in him the defender of their rights. At the head of 
a detachment of Dalesmen, reinforced by his army now 
recalled from Finland, he marched to Upsala, and laid 
siege to the archbishop's palace. By the middle of 
July it fell ; and Sture advanced to Staket, a strongly 
fortified castle of the archbishop, about thirty miles 
south of Upsala. While beleaguering this place, he 
learned that a portion of the Danish forces were advanc- 
ing on the capital. He therefore relinquished the siege 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 21 

of Staket, and proceeded to Stockholm, where he held 
himself in readiness to repel the enemy. On the 29th 
of September, being led by a ruse outside the city, he 
was surrounded by the Danes, and was able to recover 
the castle only after heavy loss. This battle sealed his 
fate. Finding himself far outnumbered, he deemed it 
wise to yield ; and on the 6th of October, 1497, Hans was 
recognized by him as king. 

The reign of Hans lasted about four years. At first 
he appeared desirous to promote the welfare of Sweden 
and to conform to the terms of the Kalmar Recess. But 
before long even the Cabinet began to grow weary of 
their king. The benefits conferred upon them were not 
so great as they had hoped. As for Sture, at his renun- 
ciation of the regency he had been granted extensive 
fiefs both in Sweden and in Finland; but in 1499 the 
king forced him to resign a large portion of these fiefs. 
The other members of the Cabinet, now having less 
cause of jealousy, became more friendly to Sten Sture. 
His old enemy, Svante Sture, was at length reconciled to 
him through the mediation of their common admirer, 
Dr. Hemming Gad. Even with the clergy Sten Sture 
was now on better terms ; and at his solicitation, in Jan- 
uary, 1501, the Chapter of Linkoping elected Gad to fill 
their vacant see. The main ground of complaint against 
Hans was that he disregarded the clause of the Recess 
which forbade the granting of Swedish fiefs to Danes. 
Matters reached a crisis in 1501, when Sten and Svante 
Sture, Gad, and three others met in council and took oath 
to resist the oppression of their foreign ruler. This step 
was the signal for a general explosion. On every side 



22 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

the people rose in arms. Hans was in despair. He 
first took counsel with his warm supporter, the arch- 
bishop, and then, on the 11th of August, 1501, set off 
with his whole fleet for Denmark. 

In the royal castle at Stockholm he left his wife 
Christina, who, with Erik Trolle and a force of one 
thousand men, was determined to resist. Gad, whose 
election to the bishopric of Linkoping the pope refused 
to ratify, undertook to besiege the castle. Meantime 
Svante Sture laid siege to Orebro, and Sten proceeded 
to Dalarne and other parts to gather forces. On the 
12th of November the Cabinet again called Sten Sture 
to the regency. In February the Castle of Orebro fell. 
And still Christina with her brave followers held out. 
Not till the 9th of May, after a bloody assault, could 
the patriots force a passage. Then they found that, of 
the one thousand who had formed the original garrison, 
but seventy were alive. Christina was conveyed to 
Vadstena, where she remained several months pending 
negotiations. At the close of the year 1503 she was 
accompanied to the frontier by the regent, who how- 
ever was taken ill on his return journey, and died at 
Jonkoping on the 13th of December, 1503. Sten Sture 
had done much for Sweden. Though himself a mag- 
nate, and ambitious to increase his power, he was zeal- 
ous for the welfare of his country, and did more than 
any other of his time to awake Sweden to a sense of her 
existence as a nation. It was on the foundation laid 
by him that a still greater leader was soon to build a 
mighty edifice. 

On the 21st of January, 1504, at a general diet of the 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 23 

magnates, with delegates from the burghers and peasan- 
try of Sweden, Svante Sture was elected regent. His 
reign was even more warlike than that of his prede- 
cessor. The Cabinet, it is true, had come to see the 
benefits resulting from Sten Sture's rule, and the ma- 
jority of them were lukewarm adherents of the Swedish 
party. But Hans was more determined than ever to 
seize the crown, and not only harassed Svante through- 
out his reign by a long series of invasions, but did all 
he could to compromise him with other foreign powers. 
Svante, however, succeeded in winning many friends. 
In 1504 he concluded a truce of twenty years with Rus- 
sia, which was extended, by treaty of 1510, to 1564. In 
1510 an alliance was also formed between Sweden and the 
Vend cities. In 1506 the Dalesmen, at one of their as- 
semblies, issued a letter to the people of their provinces, 
urging them to support Svante with life and limb. But 
this burst of enthusiasm was short-lived. The war with 
Hans hung on. New taxes had to be imposed, and sev- 
eral fiefs to which different magnates laid claim were 
appropriated to the crown. Discontent spread once 
more, and at a Cabinet meeting held in September, 
1511, Svante was declared deposed. He refused to yield 
till heard by a general diet of the kingdom, and while 
negotiations were pending, on the 2d of January, 1512, 
he died. 

Nothing could have given certain members of the 
Cabinet greater pleasure. The clerical members es- 
pecially, being warmly attached to the Danish cause, 
thought they now saw an opportunity to set Hans on the 
throne. About the middle of January the Cabinet came 



24 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

together and, at the solicitation of Archbishop Ulfsson, 
resolved to intrust the government for the time being 
to Erik Trolle. This gentleman, of whom we have al- 
ready seen something, was of high birth as well as 
talent, thoroughly versed in affairs, and allied to the 
Danish party not only by family connection, but also by 
reason of large estates in Denmark. He was, moreover, 
a warm friend of the archbishop. 

However, the hopes of Trolle were not destined to be 
realized. At the death of Svante, the Castle of Orebro 
was in command of a daring and ambitious youth of 
nineteen, known to history as Sten Sture the Younger. 
He was Svante's son, and in the preceding year had 
married Christina Gyllenstjerna, a great-granddaughter 
of King Karl Knutsson. Immediately on hearing of his 
father's death, he hastened to Vesteras, took possession 
of the castle, and despatched a messenger to convey the 
news to Stockholm. On the 8th of January the steward 
of Stockholm Castle declared his readiness to yield the 
command to Sture, and within a day or two the castles 
of Stegeborg and Kalmar were also given up. The en- 
ergy with which this chivalrous youth seized the helm 
is all the more astounding when we reflect that he stood 
almost alone against the Cabinet. He could not even 
ask the advice of Gad, his father's trusty friend, for 
that doughty patriot was at the moment outside the 
realm. But his zeal won him numerous friends among 
the younger magnates, and the peasantry throughout 
the country were on his side. All winter long the bat- 
tle raged between the two factions, but meantime Sture 
continually grew in favor. No general diet of the king- 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 25 

dom was summoned, but it was understood on every 
hand that the matter would be submitted to the people 
when they came together on St. Erik's day at Upsala. 
On that day, May 18, the archbishop and his followers- 
addressed the people in the Grand Square at Upsala, 
and announced that the Cabinet had resolved to raise 
Erik Trolle to the regency. But they were met by 
shouts from the crowd, who declared that they would 
have no Danes. Meantime Sture had been holding a 
mass-meeting on the so-called Royal Meadow outside 
the town, and had been enthusiastically applauded by 
the people. Even yet, however, the conflict did not 
cease. The Cabinet still clamored for Erik Trolle, and 
it was not till the 23d of July, when every hope was 
gone, that they finally gave way and recognized Sture 
as regent. Sture now set forth on a journey through 
Sweden and Finland, receiving everywhere the alle- 
giance of the people. All at last seemed in his favor, 
when suddenly, on the 20th of February, 1513, the 
face of things was changed by the unexpected death of 
Hans. 

Before considering the effect of this catastrophe, let 
us return to the little boy whom we last saw on his 
father's estate at Rydboholm. Even he was not wholly 
outside the conflict. His father, Erik, whom we find in 
1488 subscribing his name as a knight, 1 took an 
active part in the commotions of his times, and early 
won ill-favor with King Hans. The young Gustavus 
in his fifth year, so runs the story, happened to be 
playing in the hall of Stockholm Castle, when King 

1 Handl. till upplgsn. a/Finl. hafd., vol. i. p. 187. 



26 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. I. 

Hans espied him, and, attracted by his winning man- 
ners, patted him on the head and said, " You '11 be 
a great man in your day, if you live." But when he 
found out who the child was, he wanted to carry him off 
to Denmark with him. To this the boy's great-uncle, 
Sture, raised serious objections, and lest the king should 
use some treachery, hurried Gustavus out of the way at 
once. 1 In the very next year, 1501, occurred the rebel- 
lion against Hans, which resulted in the election of 
Sture to the regency. Erik was one of the supporters 
of his uncle throughout this strife, and in 1502 we find 
him signing a document as member of the Cabinet. 2 
About the same time he was made commandant of 
Kastelholm Castle. 3 This post, however, he held but a 
short time, and then retired to his old estate at Ryd- 
boholm. 4 Among his children, besides Gustavus, were 
one younger boy, Magnus, and several girls. Gustavus, 
we are told, was a handsome, attractive little fellow, 
and it is added that in his sports he was always rec- 
ognized as leader by his playmates. 5 In 1509, when 
in his thirteenth year, he was sent by his parents to 

1 Svart, Gust. L's Jcrbn., p. 2, and Tegel, Then stoormecht., p. 3. 
Tegel makes this incident occur in the child's seventh year, in 1497. 
Here we have another proof that Tegel places the birth of Gustavus 
too early. If the child had been born in 1490, this incident could 
not have taken place till still later than his seventh year, for Hans did 
not become king till 1497. 

2 Kongl. ochfurstl.forlijkn.,^. 383-384. 
8 Tegel, Then stoormecht., p. 3. 

4 In Heuterdahl, Swensh. Kyrk. hist., vol. iii. pt. ii. pp. 558-559, are 
two letters, dated at Rydboholm, from Erik and his wife to the re- 
gent, Svante Sture. 

5 Svart, Gust. I.'s kr'on., p. 2. 



1496-1513.] CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 27 

Upsala, and placed in a preparatory school. 1 Soon 
after, probably in the next year, Gustavus was admitted 
to the University. This institution, which had been 
founded in 1477, through the persistent efforts of Arch- 
bishop Ulfsson, and of which the archbishop was chan- 
cellor, was at this time in a semi-dormant state. Scarce 
anything is known either about its professors or about 
the number of its students. It is probable, however, 
that Peder Galle, who was cantor of the Upsala Chap- 
ter so early as 1504, 2 and whose powers as a theological 
gladiator will become known to us further on, was one 
of the professors. Another was Henrik Sledorn, 3 whom 
Gustavus later made his chancellor. Of the progress 
made by Gustavus in his studies we know nothing. It 
may well be surmised, however, that the politics of his 
day engrossed a large share of his attention. Upsala 
was not then the peaceful town that it now is, and 
the chancellor of the University was in the very vortex 
of the struggle. If Gustavus was still connected with 
the University in 1512, we may suppose with reason 
that he took his part in the great demonstration which 
resulted in the election of the chivalric young Sture. 

1 Svart, Gust. L's Jcrbn., p. 2, and Ahrapred., pp. 50-51. Tegel, Then 
stoormecht., p. 3, agrees that it was in 1509 that Gustavus was sent to 
Upsala, but seems to assert that he was admitted at once to the 
University. 

2 C. A. Ornhjelm's Diplomatarium, a manuscript preserved in the 
Vitterh., Hist., och Antiq. Akad. at Stockholm. 

8 Svart, Gust. L's kron., p. 2, and Ahrapred., pp. 50-51. 



Chapter II. 

FIRST MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GIISTAYUS ; A PRISONER 
IN DENMARK, 1514-1519. 

Description of Stockholm. — Christina Gyllenstjerna. — Hemming Gad. — 
Christiern II. — Gustaf Trolle. — Dissension between Sten Sture and 
Gustaf Trolle. — Siege of Staket. — First Expedition of Christiern II. 
against Sweden. — Trial of the Archbishop. — Arcimboldo. — Second 
Expedition of Christiern II. against Sweden. — Capture of Gustavus 
Yasa. — Resignation of the Archbishop. — Hostilities of Christiern II. 
— Farewell of Arcimboldo. 

THE old town of Stockholm was beyond all doubt 
the most picturesque capital in Europe. Perched 
on an isle of rock at the eastern extremity of Lake 
Malar, it stood forth like a sentinel guarding the en- 
trance to the heart of Sweden. Around its base on 
north and south dashed the foaming waters of the Malar, 
seeking their outlet through a narrow winding channel 
to the Baltic. Across this channel on the south, and 
connected with the city by a bridge, the towering cliffs 
of Sodermalm gazed calmly down upon the busy traffic 
of the city's streets ; and far away beyond the channel 
on the north stretched an undulating plain, dotted with 
little patches of green shrubbery and forest. On the 
west the city commanded a wide view over an enchanting 
lake studded with darkly wooded isles, above whose trees 
peeped here and there some grim turret or lofty spire. 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 29 

Finally, in the east, the burgher standing on the city's 
walls could trace for several miles the current of a 
silver stream, glittering in the sunlight, and twisting in 
and out among the islands along the coast until at last 
it lost itself in the mighty waters of the Baltic. 

The town itself was small. The main isle, on which 
" the city," so called, was built, stretched scarce a quar- 
ter of a mile from east to west and but little more from 
north to south. Nestling under the shadow of the main 
isle were two smaller isles, Biddarholm on the west and 
Helgeandsholm on the north, both severed from the 
city by a channel about fifty feet in width. Through 
the centre of the main isle ran a huge backbone of rock, 
beginning at the south and rising steadily till within 
a few feet of the northern shore. The summit of this 
ridge was crowned by the royal citadel, a massive edifice 
of stone, the northern wall of which ran close along the 
shore, so that the soldier on patrol could hear the ripple 
of the water on the rocks below. From either side of 
the citadel the town walls ran south at a distance of 
perhaps a hundred feet from the shore, meeting at a 
point about the same distance from the southern channel. 
Within the triangle thus formed, not over twenty-five 
acres all told, lived and moved five thousand human 
beings. The streets, it need scarce be said, were narrow, 
dark, and damp. The houses were lofty, generally with 
high pitch-roofs to prevent the snow from gathering on 
them. The doors and windows were high, but narrow 
to keep out the cold, and were built in the sides of the 
house, not in front, owing to the darkness and narrow- 
ness of the streets. To economize space, most of the 



30 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IL 

houses were built in blocks of five or six, wholly sepa- 
rated from their neighbors and forming a sort of castle 
by themselves. The only church inside the walls was 
the so-called Great Church on the summit of the hill. 
Adjoining this church on the south was the old town- 
hall. As to public squares, there were but two, — the 
Grand Square, on the summit of the hill immediately 
south of the town-hall ; and the so-called Iron Market, a 
smaller square just inside the southern gate. These 
squares, the largest not more than eighty yards in 
length, served at once as the market, the promenade, 
and the place of execution for the town. The town- 
walls were fortified at several points by towers, and were 
entered by gateways at the northwest corner and at the 
southern point, as well as by several small gateways 
along the sides. The city was connected with the main- 
land north and south by turreted bridges, the north 
bridge passing across the island of Helgeandsholm, 
All around ' the main island, some fifty feet from the 
shore, ran a long bridge on piles, built as a safeguard 
against hostile ships. Protected thus by nature and by 
art from foreign intrusion, the burghers of Stockholm 
learned to rely on their own industry and skill for every 
need. They formed themselves into various trades or 
guilds, each under the surveillance of a master. To be 
admitted to a guild it was necessary to pass a severe 
examination in the particular trade. These guilds were 
marked by an intense esprit de corps, each striving to 
excel the others in display of wealth. Some guilds were 
composed wholly of tradespeople, others wholly of arti- 
sans; and there were still others formed for social or 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OE GUSTAVUS. 31 

religious purposes, comprising members of various trades. 
Of these latter guilds the most aristocratic and in- 
fluential was the Guild of the Sacred Body. Inside a 
guild the members were bound together by the warmest 
bonds of friendship. They ordinarily lived in the same 
quarter of the town ; they cared for their brothers in 
sickness or poverty, and said Mass in common for the 
souls of their deceased. Each guild held meetings at 
stated intervals to vote on various matters concerning 
its affairs. In case of war the different guilds enlisted 
in separate companies. Over and above all the guilds 
were a burgomaster and council elected by their fellow- 
townsmen, their duties being to regulate the relations of 
the various guilds to one another, and provide for the 
general welfare of the city. Thus the inhabitants of 
Stockholm formed a miniature republic by themselves. 
They governed themselves in nearly all local matters. 
They bought, sold, and exchanged according to their 
own laws and regulations. They married and gave in 
marriage after their own caprice. Industrious, skilful, 
with little ambition, they bustled about their narrow 
streets, jostling those at their elbow and uttering slander 
against those out of hearing. In short, they led the 
humdrum life incident to all small towns in time of 
peace, and were ever eager to vary this monotony at the 
first sound of war. 1 

Into this community Gustavus was ushered in the 
year 1514. He was then but eighteen, and was sum- 

1 Olaus Magni, Hist, de gent. Sept., pp. 409-410. This curious 
book, written by a contemporary of Gustavus, gives au invaluable 
picture of the details of Swedish life. 



32 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

moned by the regent to the royal court to complete his 
education. 1 He found himself at once in clover. Three 
years before, his mother's half-sister, Christina Gyllen- 
stjerna, had married the young regent ; and the youth 
on coming to Stockholm was received as one of the 
family in the royal palace. 

Among all the personages then at court, the most 
interesting, by all odds, was the regent's wife, Christina. 
This woman is one of the most puzzling characters in 
Swedish history. On her father's side of royal lineage, 
and on her mother's descended from one of the oldest 
families in Sweden, she inherited at the same time a 
burning desire for personal advancement and an enthu- 
siasm for the glory of her native land. Wedded to a 
handsome, daring, impetuous youth of twenty-one, the 
nation's favorite, she entered with her whole heart into 
all his projects, and was among his most valuable coun- 
sellors whether in peace or war. In force of character 
and in personal bravery she was scarce inferior to her 
heroic husband, and yet she lacked not discretion or 
even shrewdness. She was the idol of the Swedish 
people, and before many years were passed was to have 
an opportunity to test their love. 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., p. 3, and Ahrapred., p. 51 ; and Tegel, Then 
stoormeckt., p. 3. All authorities agree that this event took place in 
1514; but they differ as to the boy's age at the time. Svart, who 
places his birth in 1495, says he was eighteen, which would be equally 
true after May 12, 1514, even though the birth was in 1496. Tegel 
says he was twenty-four, as he would be if born in 1490 ; but as Tegel 
says in the very next sentence that he was sent to court to be educated, 
it is clear he could not have been so old as twenty-four, and hence could 
not have been born so early as 1490. 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 33 

Another personage at court, with whom we have al- 
ready become acquainted, was Hemming Gad. Although 
of humble birth, this man had received a careful educa- 
tion, and during twenty years of his early life had held 
the post of Swedish ambassador at the court of Rome. 
On his return to Sweden he had been elected bishop of 
the diocese of Linkoping, but had never entered on his 
duties owing to the opposition of the pope. He was 
not indeed a priest. Diplomacy was above all else the 
field in which he shone. A warm supporter of the 
Stures, he had more than once averted trouble by his 
powers of conciliation, and was regarded as an indis- 
pensable servant of the people's cause. Fearless, elo- 
quent, untiring, conciliatory, persuasive, perhaps not too 
conscientious, he was the most influential person in the 
Cabinet and one of the very foremost statesmen of his 
time. It was to this man, then seventy-four years of 
age, that the care of the young Gustavus was intrusted 
when he came to court. 

Affairs at this time were in a state of great confu- 
sion. King Hans of Denmark had died a year before, 
and after several months of hostile demonstration had 
been succeeded by his son. This person, known as 
Christiern II., was as vile a monster as ever occupied 
a throne. Gifted by nature with a powerful frame, 
tall, burly, with large head and short thick neck, broad 
forehead and high cheek-bones, prominent nose, firmly 
compressed lips, a plentiful supply of shaggy hair on 
his head and face, heavy overhanging eyebrows, his 
eyes small, deep-set, and fierce, — his appearance fur- 
nished an excellent index to his character. Firm, cour- 

3 



34 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

ageous, by no means wanting in intellect or executive 
ability, he was sensual, gross, and cruel. Though often 
full of hilarity and hearty animal spirits, there was ever 
hanging over him a cloud of melancholy, which occa- 
sionally settled on him with such weight as to rob him 
wholly of his reason. At such times he seemed trans- 
formed into some fierce monster with an insatiable 
thirst for blood. When a mere boy in the royal palace 
at Copenhagen, he is said to have amused himself by 
midnight orgies about the city's streets. 1 He was well 
educated, however, and early became a useful adjunct to 
his father. At twenty-one he displayed much bravery 
in an assault which Hans then made on Stockholm; 
and a few years later he became his father's deputy 
in the government of Norway. While there, his sec- 
retary one day came to him and portrayed in glowing 
terms the beauty of a maiden who had dazzled him in 
Bergen. The sensitive heart of Christiern at once was 
fired. He left his castle at Opslo without a moment's 
waiting, and, crossing hill and vale without a murmur, 
hastened to feast his eyes on the fair Dyveke. Being 
of a romantic turn of mind, he resolved to see her first 
amidst all the fashion of the town. A splendid ball 
was therefore held, to which the aristocracy were bid- 
den with their daughters. Among the guests was the 
renowned Dyveke, who outshone all in beauty. No 
sooner did Christiern see her, than his whole soul 
burned within him. He seized her hand, and led off 
the dance in company with his fair enchanter. Rap- 
ture filled his soul ; and when the ball was over, Dyveke 
1 Svaning, Christ. II., pp. 20-23. 






1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 35 

was secretly detained and brought to Christiern's bed. 
This incident had a far-reaching influence on Christiern's 
later life. Though already betrothed to the sister of 
Charles V., his passion for Dyveke did not pass away. 
He erected a palace at Opslo, and lived there with his 
mistress until recalled to Copenhagen, when he took 
her with him. The most singular feature in this whole 
intrigue is that the royal voluptuary was from the 
outset under the absolute sway, not of the fair Dyveke, 
but of her mother, Sigbrit, a low, cunning, intriguing 
woman of Dutch origin, who followed the couple to the 
royal palace at Opslo, and afterwards accompanied them 
to Stockholm, the complete ruler of her daughter's 
royal slave. On the accession of Christiern to the 
throne, he resolved, at the instance of this woman, to 
add the Swedish kingdom to his dominions. In order 
to comprehend the measures which he adopted, it will 
be necessary to trace events in Sweden since the death 
of Hans. 

The Danish party, in no way daunted by their futile 
effort to secure the regency of Sweden, had kept up 
continuous negotiations with their friends in Denmark, 
with the object ultimately to place the king of Den- 
mark on the throne. Owing, however, to the manifest 
and growing popularity of the young Sture, they deemed 
it wise to wait for a more auspicious moment before 
making open demonstration, and for the time being 
yielded to the regent with the best grace they could 
command. The thing which they most needed, in order 
to counteract the influence of the chivalric young Sture, 
was the infusion of new life among their ranks. The 



36 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

archbishop and Erik Trolle both were old, and, though 
in the full vigor of their intellectual ability, lacked the 
energy and endurance required to carry on a policy of 
active war. It was resolved, therefore, to throw the 
burden of leadership on younger shoulders. There was 
at this* time in Rome a man who seemed to possess 
more qualifications than any other for the post. This 
was Gustaf Trolle. He was young, highly educated, 
energetic, and above all a son of Erik Trolle, the pow- 
erful leader of the Danish faction. He had seen much 
of the world, and had lived on terms of familiarity with 
some of the greatest men in Europe. But his whole 
power of usefulness was lost through his inordinate 
personal and family pride. Weighted down by the sense 
of his own importance, with haughty overbearing man- 
ners, and a dogged obstinacy in dealing with his inferi- 
ors, he was the last man in the world to be successful 
as a party leader. Yet it was on this man that the 
Danish party fixed its hopes. The matter first took 
shape on the 31st of August, 1514, when the archbishop 
in conversation with Sture suggested that old age was 
now coming on so fast that he desired to resign his 
office, and asked whom Sture deemed most fit to serve 
as his successor. To this the courteous regent an- 
swered that he knew no one better fitted for the post 
than the archbishop himself. With this the conversa- 
tion ended. On the 12th of October following, the crafty 
archbishop, not averse to feathering his own nest, 
formed a compact with Erik Trolle by which Ulfsson 
was to commend the latter' s son for the archbishopric, 
and in return Erik promised to support Ulfsson to the 



1514-19] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 37 

utmost of his power and to see that Gustaf Trolle did 
not deprive Ulfsson of the archiepiscopal rents dur- 
ing the latter's life. 1 This done, Erik Trolle went 
to the regent and asked him to recommend Gustaf 
Trolle for the post of archdeacon of Upsala. This 
request was complied with. But when, soon after, 
Erik appeared again before the regent with a letter 
from the archbishop informing him that the Chapter 
of Upsala had decided on Gustaf Trolle as the new 
archbishop, Sture was so startled that he wrote to 
Upsala to say that he had never consented to such 
a proposition, but nevertheless if God wished it he 
would raise no opposition. The pope having already 
declared that no one should be appointed without the 
regent's consent, no effort was spared to dispose Sture 
well towards the new candidate, and with so good 
result that when the archbishop's messengers went to 
Rome to secure the confirmation, they carried with them 
a letter from Sture to his legate in Rome, instructing 
him to do all he could before the pope in favor of 
Gustaf Trolle. 2 

In May, 1515, the young man was consecrated arch- 
bishop of Upsala by the pope, 3 and started in the 
following summer for the North. Passing through 
Lubeck, where he is rumored to have had an audience 

1 Hist, handl., vol. viii. p. 64. This is a deed to the effect stated 
above, signed by Erik Trolle, and dated Oct. 12, 1514. 

2 Svenska medeltid. rim-kron., voL iii. p. 203 ; Olaus Petri, Svenska 
kron., pp. 305-306 ; Johannes Magni, Hist, pont., p. 72 ; and Handl. 
ror. Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 45-47. 

8 Svenska medeltid. rim-kron., vol. iii. p. 203 ; and Hist, handl., vol. 
viii. pp. 68-70. 



38 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

of Christiern, 1 he pursued his journey by water, and at 
last cast anchor off the Swedish coast about twelve 
miles from Stockholm. Here he was met by certain of 
the Danish party, who urged him to give the cold shoul- 
der to the regent. Instead, therefore, of proceeding 
to the capital, he drove direct to Upsala, and was in- 
stalled in his new office : all this in spite of the fact 
that the old archbishop had assured the regent, before 
he wrote to Rome, that he would not hand over Upsala 
nor Staket to Trolle till the latter had sworn allegiance 
to Sture. 2 The immediate effect of his investiture was 
to augment the haughtiness of the young archbishop. 
Scarcely had he become domiciled in Upsala, when he 
wrote a letter to the regent warning him that he, the 
archbishop, was about to visit with punishment all who 
had wronged his father or grandfather, or his prede- 
cessor in the archiepiscopal chair. To this the re- 
gent, wishing if possible to avert trouble, answered that 
if any persons had done the wrong complained of, he 
would see 'to it that they should be punished. But 
the archbishop was in no mood for compromise. The 
breach now opened, he resolved to make it wider ; and 
he had no difficulty in finding pretext. The fief of 
Staket had long been a bone of contention between 
the Church and State. Though for many years in the 
hands of the archbishops, it had never been clearly 
settled whether they held it as a right or merely by 
courtesy of the crown ; and at the resignation of Arch- 

1 Olaus Petri, Soenska kr'dn., p. 306; and Laurent. Petri, Then 
Svenska chrhi., p. 141. 

2 Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 51 and 74-75. 






1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 39 

bishop Ulfsson the fief was claimed by his successor, 
Trolle, as well as by the regent. In order to put an 
end to this vexed question, the regent wrote to Ulfs- 
son asking him to produce the title-deeds on which his 
claim was based. After considerable correspondence, 
in which, however, the deeds were not produced, Sture, 
deeming it unwise to leave the fief any longer without 
a steward, entered into possession, and applied the in- 
comes to the royal treasury, at the same time assuring 
Ulfsson that if he or the Chapter at Upsala could prove 
a title to the fief, they should enjoy it. This only added 
fuel to the flame. Trolle, unable as it seems to prove 
his title, assumed the posture of one who had been 
wronged, and scorned the urgent invitation of the re- 
gent to come to Stockholm and discuss the matter. 
Indeed, there were rumors in the air to the effect that 
Trolle was engaged in a conspiracy against the throne. 1 
In this way matters continued till February of the 
following year, 1516, when Sture resolved to attend 
the annual Upsala fair and have a conference with 
Trolle. The conference took place in presence of some 
of the leading men of Sweden, in the sacristy of the 
cathedral. But it led to no result. Trolle charged the 
regent with unfair dealing, vhich the latter denied, at 
the same time demanding proof. None was furnished ; 
and the regent withdrew, feeling more than ever con- 
vinced that the conduct of the archbishop boded ill. 
In this juncture he summoned a Cabinet meeting, to be 

1 Svenska medeltid. rim-kron., vol. iii. p. 204 ; Olaus Petri, Svenska 
krdn., pp. 306-307 ; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., p. 141 ; and 
Handl. r'or. Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 48-49 and 76. 



40 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

held at Telge in July following, to arrange the differ- 
ences between himself and Trolle, and to resolve on 
the stand to be taken by Sweden in the congress of 
the three realms to be held at Halmstad in the Feb- 
ruary following. The archbishop, by virtue of his 
office, was a member of the Cabinet; but when that 
body met, it was discovered that Trolle was not present. 
He was in Upsala, nursing his wrath to keep it warm. 
The regent therefore wrote and begged him to appear. 
"Whatever," he wrote, "the Cabinet here assembled 
shall decide as right between us, I will do." But the 
proud archbishop would not listen. He and his father 
kept away, together with one or two of their adherents ; 
and the Cabinet parted, having accomplished little. 1 

Meantime the archbishop was not idle. Shortly be- 
fore the Cabinet met, he with some of his adherents 
had held a conference at Staket, where he had per- 
suaded them to renounce the regent and form an alli- 
ance with the king of Denmark. While the Cabinet 
was in session, he despatched a messenger to King 
Christiern, urging him to break the truce with Sweden, 
and informing him that the Castle of Nykoping, now in 
the hands of one of the archbishop's satellites, should be 
thrown open to him if he would draw thither with his 









army. At the same time the archbishop began to 
fortify himself in Staket. Learning this, the regent 
saw that the hour for compromise was past. He dis- 
solved the Cabinet, and, advancing with all speed to 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska Jcron., p. 307; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska 
chron., p. 141 ; and Handl. ror Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 39-40 and 
76-77. 






1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 41 

Nykoping, stormed the castle. So rapid had been his 
action, that he took the archbishop's officers all un- 
prepared, and at the first assault the garrison surren- 
dered. This was on the 15th of August. After tak- 
ing the officer in command of the garrison to Stock- 
holm, where he was consigned to prison, the energetic 
young regent proceeded to Vesteras, where, on the 8th 
of September, in an address to the populace, he ren- 
dered an account of his actions, and informed the people 
that the archbishop and others were engaged in a plot 
to yield the kingdom into the hands of Christiern. 
Thence he proceeded to an island some six miles from 
Staket, and remained there through the autumn, keep- 
ing an eye on the archbishop's castle and preparing, if 
necessary, to besiege it. The Danish party by this time 
saw that they were dealing with a man of mettle, and 
began to change their tactics. Hoping to gain time, 
they gave out that they would be glad to have the bur- 
gomaster and Council of Stockholm act as mediators in 
the dispute ; and on the 20th of October Ulfsson wrote 
to Sture to appoint a time for conference. The re- 
gent, however, was not so "easily deceived. Trolle was 
still adding to his strength in Staket, and looking for- 
ward to aid from Denmark. The regent therefore re- 
plied to Ulfsson that Trolle had brought on the dispute, 
and he must answer for it. " As to a conference with 
you," adds the regent, "my time is now so fully occu- 
pied that I can appoint no day before the Cabinet meet- 
ing to be held shortly at Arboga." About the same 
time he wrote to the Chapter at Upsala, insisting on an 
answer to a former letter, in which he had called on 



42 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

them to declare whether they proposed to side with him 
or the archbishop. In this letter he informs them: 
" As to your question whether I intend to obey the or- 
dinances of the Church, I answer that I shall defend 
the Holy Church and respect the persons of the clergy 
as becomes a Christian nobleman, provided you will 
allow me so to do ; and I have never purposed other- 
wise." Still, however, the Chapter prevaricated, and 
gave no answer ; till finally the regent sent them his 
ultimatum, closed, like all his letters, with the modest 
signature, " Sten Sture, soldier." r 

On New Year's day, 1517, the Cabinet met at Arboga, 
where a general diet of the kingdom was gathering to 
discuss the state of affairs concerning Denmark. At 
this meeting, as at the one preceding, none of the arch- 
bishop's followers were present. So soon as the Cabi- 
net had separated, the regent, in compliance with their 
suggestion, sent envoys once more to Trolle, urging him 
to renounce his allegiance to the Danish king and to 
surrender Staket. To this the stubborn archbishop 
answered that he would not yield Staket so long as his 
heart beat within him. He then turned his guns upon 
the regent's envoys, and fired on them as they with- 
drew. A few days later the regent learned from one 
of Trolle's officers whom he had taken prisoner that the 
archbishop had received a letter from King Christiern 
promising all who gave their aid in establishing him on 
the throne a double recompense for any loss incurred in 

1 Svenska medeltid. rim-kron., vol. iii. p. 205 ; Olaus Petri, Svenska 
kron., pp. 307-309 ; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., pp. 141-142 ; 
and Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 52-58, 62-71 and 77-81. 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 43 

the attempt. No time was, therefore, to be lost. Col- 
lecting a force with all haste from different parts of 
Sweden, the regent advanced on Staket to besiege the 
castle. Immediately on their arrival, Trolle sent out 
word that he desired a parley. This was granted, and 
the archbishop came outside the walls to a spot before 
the Swedish camp. In the course of the discussion, 
Trolle, perhaps with a view to intimidate the regent, 
declared that he had within the castle a letter from 
King Christiern announcing that he would come to the 
relief before the 1st of May. But the young regent was 
not so easily to be intimidated. His terms were that 
Trolle and his men might withdraw unharmed from 
Staket, and that the archbishop might continue in pos- 
session of the Cathedral of Upsala and all the privileges 
of his office ; but that the Castle of Staket, long a pro- 
lific source of discord, should remain in the hands of 
Sture till a tribunal composed of clergy as well as laity 
could determine whether it should belong to Church or 
State, or be demolished as a source of discord. These 
terms were not accepted, and the siege continued. All 
through the winter and spring the Swedish army bivou- 
acked outside the walls ; and Trolle, ever looking for aid 
from Denmark, refused to yield. At last, at midsummer, 
having received tidings that rescue was near at hand, 
his heart grew bold within him, and he resolved to make 
a dupe of Sture. The latter not being at the time at 
Staket, the archbishop sent a messenger to say that he 
was ready for a parley. The regent, daily fearing the 
approach of Christiern, received the messenger with joy. 
He called together the burgomaster and Council of 



44 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

Stockholm, and instructed them to select delegates to 
act in behalf of Stockholm. With these delegates and a 
few advisers on his own account he proceeded to Staket, 
and after consultation as to the terms which they should 
offer, signalled the guard on the castle walls that he was 
ready to treat with Trolle. After standing some time 
in the midst of a pouring rain, and without any prospect 
of an answer, the regent grew impatient, and sent word 
to Trolle that he could offer no other terms than those 
already offered. The charlatan then threw off the mask. 
He replied that he placed implicit confidence in Chris- 
tiern, and was in no hurry for a parley. Any time 
within six weeks would do. At this announcement the 
regent had nothing for it but to withdraw. Drenched 
to the skin, and burning at the insult offered him, he 
returned to Stockholm. 1 

He did so none too soon. The Danish forces, four 
thousand strong, were already off the Swedish coast. 
This was by no means the first proof of actual hostilities 
on the part of Christiern. Six months before, while the 
truce between the kingdoms was still in force, Chris- 
tiern had seized a Swedish vessel while lying in the 
roads outside Lubeck, and at the general diet held at 
New Year's in Arboga, it had been voted to resist the 
tyrant till the dying breath. As a result, the congress 
of the three realms which was to have been held in Feb- 
ruary had never met. A broadside was issued by the 
regent to all the men of Sweden, calling on them to 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska krbn., pp. 309-310; Johannes Magni, De 
omn. Goth., pp. 778-779; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chrbn., p. 142; 
and Handl. rbr. Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 81-87* 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 45 

prepare for war. Throughout the spring and summer 
the advent of the tyrant was expected, and the an- 
nouncement that his army had at length arrived was a 
surprise to none. 1 

It was early in the month of August, 1517, when the 
Danish fleet was sighted off the coast twelve miles from 
Stockholm. Sture proceeded at once to the point at 
which it was expected they would land, and thus pre- 
vented them. The fleet hovered about the coast for 
several days, sending out pillaging parties in small 
boats to the shore. One of these parties was inter- 
cepted ; and from a prisoner who was taken, Sture 
learned definitely that the object of the expedition was 
to go to the relief of Staket. On this news Sture sent 
some members of the Cabinet to Staket to inform the 
archbishop that the Danish force was now off Stock- 
holm, and to urge him in behalf of the town of Stock- 
holm to send word to the Danish force that it could 
count on no aid from him, as he was resolved to remain 
true to his native land. But this final appeal to the 
archbishop's honor met with no response. The fleet 
meantime had approached the capital, and was riding at 
anchor about two miles down the stream. There the 
whole force landed, intending to march direct to Staket. 
But the young regent was again ahead of them. Scarce 
had they set foot on shore when he fell upon them with 
his army. The conflict was sharp and bitter, but at last 
the regent came off victorious. The Danes were driven 
headlong to their ships, leaving many of their number 

1 Olaus Petri, Svemka krm., p. 310 ; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska 
chrun., p. 142 ; and Kongl. ochfurstl.forlijkn., pp. 434-135. 



46 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

dead upqn the shore, while others fell captives into the 
hand of Sture. This was a red-letter day in the cal- 
endar of the regent, and is specially memorable as be- 
ing the first occasion on which the young Gustavus drew 
sword in behalf of his native land. 1 

Elated by his victory, the regent now opened com- 
munications once more with Trolle. With a view to 
frighten him into submission, he sent some of the Danish 
captives to Staket, that the archbishop might hear from 
his own allies the story of their disaster. Even at this 
the proud spirit of the archbishop was not humbled. 
He still persisted in his determination not to yield, 
and it was only when his own officers began to leave 
him that he signified his willingness to withdraw from 
Staket and retire to the duties of his cathedral. But 
now it was Sture's turn to dictate. He answered curtly 
that a murderer could no longer be archbishop, and 
proceeded at once to summon a general diet of the 
kingdom. This diet met at Stockholm in the last days 
of November. It was a notable gathering. Among 
those present were four of the six bishops, — all except 
the bishops of Vexio and Skara, — of laymen, Hemming 
Gad and the father of young Gustavus, besides some ten 
other knights and armigers, the burgomaster and Coun- 
cil of Stockholm, and a large number of delegates from 
the peasantry. Before this assembly the archbishop 
appeared, under safe-conduct from the regent, to plead 

1 Svenska medeltid. rim-krbn., vol. iii. pp. 205-206 ; Olaus Petri, 
Svenska kr'dn., pp. 310-311 ; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., pp. 
142-143; Svart, Ahrapred., pp. 52-53; and Handl. ror. Skand. hist., 
vol. xxiv. pp. 87-88. 



1514-19.] MILITAEY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 47 

his cause. Among the witnesses produced in favor of 
the crown was a Danish officer captured in the battle 
outside Stockholm. This man testified, among other 
things, that before the Danish fleet set forth, a mes- 
senger from Trolle had appeared before King Christiern 
to solicit aid for Staket. Indeed, the charge of con- 
spiracy was proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. The 
whole house rose with one accord in denunciation of the 
traitor. Without a dissenting voice it was decreed that 
Staket, " the rebel stronghold,'' should be levelled to the 
ground ; that Trolle should nevermore be recognized as 
archbishop; that, though by the terms of his safe-con- 
duct he might return to Staket, he should not come 
forth therefrom till he had given pledge to do no further 
injury to the kingdom; and, finally, that if Trolle or 
any other in his behalf should solicit excommunication 
on any of those present for this resolve or for besieging 
or destroying Staket, or should otherwise molest them, 
they all should stand firm by one another. This resolve, 
before the diet parted, was put into writing, and to it 
every member attached his seal. 1 

The archbishop, as had been promised him, was per- 
mitted to return to Staket, which was again put into a 
state of siege. The siege, however, was of short dura- 
tion. Deserted by the largest portion of his officers, 
and with no immediate prospect of further aid from 
Denmark, the archbishop had nothing for it but to 
yield. Staket thus fell into the hands of Sture ; and the 

1 Olaus Petri, Smnska kron., pp. 311-312; Laurent. Petri, Then 
Svenska chrbn., p. 143; Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 94-105 ; 
and Kongl, och furstl. fortijkn., pp. 435-437. 



48 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

archbishop was placed in the monastery of Vesteras, 
to remain there captive till further disposition should be 
made of his archbishopric. 1 

The whole country was by this time overrun with 
rebels. Particularly along the southern frontier the 
Danish party, in close alliance with the king of Den- 
mark, kept the inhabitants in a state of terror; and 
their hostile demonstrations became at last so marked 
that the regent found it necessary, in the autumn of 
1517, to despatch his army thither to repress them. 
This news was brought to Christiern's ears, still tingling 
with the report of the disaster of his fleet. The mon- 
arch, having no stomach for a winter campaign among 
the snows of Sweden, bethought him of a truce until the 
coming spring. There chanced to be in Denmark at the 
time a smooth-mouthed scoundrel with the unsavory 
name of Arcimboldo. He was by trade a dealer in 
indulgences, having been commissioned by Leo X. to 
vend his wares throughout the northern parts of Europe. 
He had already spent some time in Lubeck, where he 
had reaped a splendid harvest ; and had now been 
carrying on his business about two years in Denmark. 
On every church lie had affixed a chest with notice that 
all who would contribute to the sacred cause should 
receive full absolution from their sins. It certainly was 
a tempting offer, and one which the unwary believers in 
the papal authority were not slow to seize. They poured 
in their contributions with a lavish hand, and the legate 
soon amassed a princely fortune. At last, however, his 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., p. 313 ; Johannes Magni, Be omn. 
Goth., p. 779 ; and Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., p, 143. 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 49 

goods began to be a drug upon the market, and he pre- 
pared to transfer his headquarters to another land. 
It was about this time, early in the winter of 1518, that 
Christiern made up his mind to suggest a truce with 
Sweden, and the grand idea occurred to him of enlist- 
ing the papal legate in his service. He summoned the 
pardon-monger without delay, and suggested that he 
should mediate with Sture. To this suggestion Arcim- 
boldo, by no means averse to turning an honest penny, 
gave his assent. He sat down at once and wrote a letter 
to the regent, instructing him that the pope desired to 
see peace made between the kingdoms. He therefore, 
as ambassador from his Holiness, suggested that Sture 
should observe a truce by land with Denmark till the 
23d of April next, and in the mean time should send 
delegates to the town of Lund with full power to make 
a lasting peace between the kingdoms. To this proposal 
the legate added that Christiern had given his consent. 
This document was handed to the regent about the 
middle of February. He sent back a despatch at once, 
thanking the legate for his efforts in behalf of peace, 
and expressing a wish to accede in general to the prop- 
osition. It would not be possible, however, to send 
delegates to a congress on so short a notice. Before 
doing so it would be necessary to hold a general diet, so 
that the people of Sweden might vote upon the matter ; 
and as some of the members would have to come from 
Finland, the diet could not be held unless the truce was 
extended so as to embrace the sea. But he should be 
pleased if Arcimboldo would effect a lasting treaty be- 
tween the kingdoms, or even a truce by sea and land 

4 



50 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

to continue for the life of Christiern. He, on his part, 
would summon a general diet as soon as possible, with 
a view to bring about a lasting peace. Thus the peace 
negotiations came to naught. Christiern had no inten- 
tion of consenting to a lasting peace, and Sture was not 
to be inveigled into a truce which had no other object 
than to give the king of Denmark an opportunity to 
recruit. 1 

And thus the winter wore away, and spring came, and 
both parties were gathering up their forces to renew the 
war. In the little town of Stockholm a spirit of patriot- 
ism was growing fast. It was felt on every hand that 
the coming summer would forever settle the question of 
slavery or freedom, and all were fixed in purpose to 
resist the tyrant till their dying breath. Children, from 
fifteen upwards, were in arms, momentarily expecting 
the arrival of the Danish fleet. But the agony was pro- 
longed day after day till the sturdy patriots were eager 
to have it close. Excitement had been wrought up to a 
fever heat, when, in the month of June, the news was 
shouted through the narrow streets that the enemy's 
vessels were at hand. The report was true. There in 
the stream below the town were visible the white sails 
of the Danish squadron, — eighty ships in all, — slowly 
forging their way against the current towards the town, 
It was a sight to make even the stout heart of a Stock- 
holm burgher quail. The fleet approached within a 
short distance, and the troops were landed on the south- 
ern shore, separated from the city only by a narrow 

1 Svaning, Christ. II, pp. 106-107 ; and Handl. rbr. Skand. hist., vol. 
xxiv. pp. 112-117, 127-128, and 130-145. 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS. 51 

channel. The Danish king himself was in command. 
His forces consisted of five thousand Germans, besides 
a thousand light-armed soldiers chiefly Danes, a hundred 
horse, and a vast multitude of laborers for building dikes 
and trenches. Proceeding to the west, he took up his 
position, June 29, on the hill opposite the city on the 
north. But he soon discovered that this point was too 
far from the town. He therefore crossed over to the 
southern shore, and pitched his camp on the cliffs of 
Sodermalm. From this point he began to bombard the 
tower at the southern corner of the town. After bat- 
tering this tower near a month, he sent a force across 
the bridge with orders to burst through the wall at the 
point which his guns had shaken. The effort, however, 
was of no avail. His force was driven back and com- 
pelled to seek safety beyond the bridge. At this junc- 
ture news arrived that a detachment of the Swedish 
army was coming against him on the south. Fearing a 
simultaneous attack on both sides, he hastily advanced 
in the direction of the expected onslaught, and threw up 
a fortification at Brannkyrka, about three miles south 
of Stockholm. On his right the land was boggy and over- 
grown with brushwood, while on his left it was somewhat 
higher and wooded. In these woods the Swedish army 
gathered. It is reported that they were twelve thousand 
strong, but they consisted chiefly of ill-trained and ill- 
armed peasants. The regent had joined them, and was 
leading them in person. The royal banners of the first 
battalion were in charge of Gustavus Vasa. After a 
few days' skirmishing, in which the patriots were twice 
driven into the covert of their woods, the Danes made 



52 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. n. 

a final charge upon them, and put them once more to 
flight. This time, however, the Danish soldiers lost 
their heads, and followed in hot haste through the forest. 
In this way they lost all advantage from their superior 
arms and training. The Swedes, nearly twice as numer- 
ous as their opponents, surrounded them, and closed in 
upon them on every side. The forest was soon red 
with blood. The patriots fought with vigor and deter- 
mination; and at length, though sixteen hundred of 
their companions were stretched upon the ground, the 
day was theirs. Sture collected his men as quickly as 
possible and returned to Stockholm, while Christiern 
took up his quarters again in Sodermalm. A few days 
later Christiern, his powder and provisions failing him, 
ordered a retreat ; but before his men were all embarked 
the Swedes were on them, and killed or captured some 
two hundred on the shore. After proceeding down the 
stream about twelve miles, the fleet cast anchor near 
the northern shore, and a foraging party was sent out 
towards Upsala for provisions. Some of these were 
captured, but the majority returned with a rich booty 
to their ships. Nearly two months had now elapsed 
since the arrival of the Danish fleet, and the cold 
weather was approaching. Christiern, worsted at every 
point, was eager to return to Denmark. But the equi- 
noctial storm would soon be coming, and he was afraid 
to venture out in rough weather on short rations. His 
men too, suffering for food and clamoring for their pay, 
began to leave him. He therefore resolved to play upon 
another string. On the 28th of August he despatched 
envoys to the regent with the preposterous proposition 



1514-19.] MILITARY ADVENTURES OE GUSTAVUS. 53 

that he should be received as king, or that in lieu thereof 
he should receive from the regent and Cabinet of Swe- 
den a yearly stipend, and that the losses which he and 
the Danish party in Sweden had suffered should be 
repaid them. This ridiculous offer was of course re- 
jected. Christiern then came down from his high horse, 
and proposed a cessation of hostilities till the difficulty 
could be settled. After some bickering on both sides it 
was agreed that a congress of the three realms should 
meet on the 10th of the following July, to determine 
Christiern's right to the crown of Sweden or to tribute ; 
and until that day there should be peace between the 
realms. This agreement was put into writing and 
signed and sealed by Christiern and the regent a few 
days before September 8. The regent then ordered 
provisions sent out to the Danish soldiers to relieve 
their want. And still the fleet continued to hang about 
the coast, waiting, so it was given out, for fair weather. 
In reality, the Danish monarch was dallying with the 
hope of putting into effect a diabolical scheme which he 
had concocted. There being now a truce between the 
kingdoms, he ventured to despatch a messenger to Sture 
with hostages, to beg the regent to come out to the 
fleet and hold a conference. After consultation with his 
Cabinet, the regent answered that he could not accede 
to this request, and the hostages were returned. Chris- 
tiern then sent again to say that he would gladly meet 
him at an appointed spot on land, provided six persons 
named — among them Hemming Gad and the regent's 
nephew, Gustavus — should first be placed on board the 
Danish fleet as hostages. A day was set and the hos- 



54 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. n. 

tages set forth. All unconscious, the rope was already 
tightening around their necks. On the 25th of Sep- 
tember, as had been agreed, the regent rode to the 
appointed place of meeting. But the Danish king was 
nowhere to be seen. Two whole days the regent waited, 
and on the third discovered that he had been entrapped. 
The fleet was on its way to Denmark, and the Swedish 
hostages were prisoners on board. Before putting out 
to sea, the monarch touched land once more to despatch 
a couple of letters, — one to the burghers of Stockholm, 
the other to all the inhabitants of Sweden. These letters 
are dated October 2. Thpir purpose was to make his 
treachery seem less brutal. He declared that the regent 
had violated the terms of the truce by ill-treating the 
Danish prisoners in his hands, and not surrendering 
them as had been stipulated in the treaty. " On this 
ground," said the tyrant, some four days after seizing the 
hostages, " I declare the treaty off." * 

Repairing with his captives to Copenhagen, the tyrant 
placed them in confinement in different parts r of Den- 
mark. Gustavus was placed in Kalo Castle, under the 
charge of the commandant, who was a distant relative 
of the young man's mother. The commandant was 
under bonds for the safe-keeping of his prisoner; but 
being a man of tender feelings, he imposed little re- 

1 Svenska medeltid. rim-krbn., vol. iii. pp. 207-209 and 232; Olaus 
Petri, Svenska krbn., pp. 313-314 ; Rensel, Berattelse, p. 15 ; Mark, 
handl., p. 91 ; Johannes Magni, De omn. Goth., p. 780 ; Laurent. Petri, 
Then Svenska chron., pp. 143-144 ; Svart, Ahrapred., p. 53, and Gust. I.'s 
kron., pp. 4-5 ; Ludvigsson, Collect., p. 86 ; Acta hist. Reg. Christ. II, 
p. 1 ; Danske Mag., 3d ser., vol. ii. pp. 237-248 ; and Handl. for. Skand. 
hist., vol. xxxii. pp. 58-63. 



1514-19.] A PRISONER IN DENMARK. 55 

straint upon Gustavus, merely exacting from him a 
promise that he would make no effort to escape. His 
life therefore was, to outward appearance, not devoid 
of pleasure. The castle was situated on a promontory 
in Jutland, at the northern end of Kalo Bay. Its wall 
ran close along the cliffs, a hundred feet above the sea. 
At either end of the castle was a gray stone tower, 
and from the windows in the towers was a charming 
prospect on every side. The promontory was connected 
with the mainland by a low and narrow strip of land, 
and along the main shore ran a dense forest belonging 
to the castle and plentifully stocked with game. All 
these pleasures were at the free disposal of the captive. 
But there was a canker ever gnawing at his heart. No 
matter which way he turned, he heard only rumors of 
fresh preparations to conquer Sweden. When guests 
visited the castle, they talked from morn till night of 
the splendid armaments of Christiern. On one occasion 
he heard them declare that so soon as Sweden fell, her 
aristocracy were to be put to the sword and their wives 
and daughters parted out among the peasantry of Den- 
mark. The Swedish peasants, they said, would soon 
learn to drive the plough with one arm and a wooden leg. 
Such jests made the young prisoner burn with indig- 
nation. He felt it necessary to conceal his passion, 
and yet he longed perpetually for a chance to burst his 
fetters and fly to the rescue of his native land. 1 

Before tracing his adventures further, let us return 
once more to Sweden. The dastardly escape of Chris- 
tiern with the Swedish hostages had stung the whole 

1 Svaning, Christ. IL, pp. 385-387, and Svart, Gust. I.'s kr'dn., pp. 6-8. 



56 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

country to the quick. Even the Chapter of Upsala, 
which had up to this time clung to the hope of 
restoring Trolle to his post, began to yield to the 
oft-repeated exhortations of the regent, and prepared 
to nominate a new archbishop. The man whom 
Sture urged for the position was the bishop of Streng- 
nas, one of those who had voted in favor of demol- 
ishing Staket; and so early as the preceding Febru- 
ary the chapter had practically assented to this choice. 
Nothing further, however, was done about it ; and when, 
in the autumn of 1518, the papal legate with his proc- 
lamations of pardon appeared in Sweden, the chapter 
began to look toward him for help. Arcimboldo was 
not the man to let slip an opportunity to aggrandize 
himself. He therefore was prepared to listen impar- 
tially to the arguments on every side, and as papal 
legate to use his authority in favor of the highest bid- 
der. Now, it required little sagacity to see that Trolle, 
whose cause the king of Denmark had commissioned 
him to urge, but who was at this time stripped of his 
prerogatives and in prison, could offer small reward; 
and from the king of Denmark he had already received 
quite as much as he had reason to expect. Moreover, 
it appeared from the experience of the last two years 
that Christiern's hopes of Sweden were likely to result 
in air. Sture was to all appearances the rising star, 
and on him the crafty legate resolved to fix his hopes. 
There seemed no valid reason, however, for deserting 
Christiern. It would be better so to trim his sails as 
to receive any emoluments that might be forthcoming 
from either party. He therefore approached the regent 



1514-19.] A PRISONER IN DENMARK. 57 

under the guise of mediator. The regent received him 
kindly, and covered him with honors and rewards. In 
the winter of 1518-1519 a meeting was held at Arboga 
at which the case of Trolle was laid before the legate. 
The outcome of it was that Trolle formally resigned 
his archbishopric and was restored to freedom. Shortly 
after, on the 5th of February, we find the legate reap- 
pointing the old archbishop, Ulfsson, to the post. Just 
why this course was taken it is impossible to state with 
certainty. But the reasons which led to it may easily 
be surmised. Ulfsson was a man of wealth, with few 
enemies and many friends. He was, next to Trolle, the 
choice of the Upsala Chapter and of Christiern, and he 
had already some time before been asked by Sture to 
reassume the post. To one of Arcimboldo's compro- 
mising temper it is not strange that Ulfsson should 
have seemed a person whose favor it was desirable to 
win. 1 
Meantime the king of Denmark was not idle. He 
' still clung to the strange infatuation that the people 
: of Sweden might be persuaded to accept him as their 
* king, and almost while in the act of seizing the Swedish 
hostages instructed Arcimboldo to beg the regent for a 
friendly conference. This wild proposal Sture treated 
with the contempt which it deserved. He wrote to 
Christiern a straightforward letter in which he refused 
to deal further with him, and demanded that the hos- 

1 Olaus Petri, Soenska kron., p. 313; Johannes Magni, Hist, pont., 
pp. 71 and 73; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chrbn., p. 143; Handl. 
'■ for. Skand. hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 110-112, 117-130; and Shift, och 
handl., vol. i. pp. 363-364. 



58 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. II. 

tages be immediately returned. Christiern of course did 
not comply. On the contrary, he continued his warlike 
preparations, and throughout the whole of the next year, 
1519, his fleet was busy in making incursions along the 
Swedish coast. These incursions, though they caused 
the regent great annoyance, had little permanent effect. 
The king was still smarting under his recent defeat, 
and did not venture at once to undertake another cam- 
paign on an extensive scale. 1 

One thing the year 1519 did for Sweden. It ridded 
her of that consummate scoundrel Arcimboldo. After 
he had fleeced the regent and his people of every penny 
that they had to give, he set forth with his ill-gotten 
gains for Denmark. He soon learned, however, that he 
had been serving too many masters. Christiern had got 
wind of his ambassador's familiarity with the regent, 
and had sent out spies to seize him on his return. 
But the Italian proved more slippery than his royal 
master had supposed. Scarce had he set foot on shore 
when he perceived that Denmark was not the place for 
him. He embarked once more for Sweden, whence he 
soon crossed over to Germany on his way to more con- 
genial climes. The last thing we hear of him is that 
the pope rewarded him with the Archbishopric of 
Milan. 2 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., pp. 315-316 ; and Handl. ror. Skand. 
hist., vol. xxiv. pp. 245-247. 

2 Eliesen, Chron. Skib., p. 567. 



Chapter III. 

FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS ; UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 
1519-1521. 

Escape of Gustavus from Denmark. — Lubeck. — Return of Gustavus to 
Sweden. — Excommunication of Sture. — Invasion of Sweden. — Death 
of Sture. — Dissolution of the Swedish Army. — Heroism of Christina. 
— Battle of Upsala. — Gustavus at Kalmar. — Fall of Stockholm. — 
Coronation of Christiern II. — Slaughter of the Swedes. — Flight of 

Gustavus to Dalarne. — Efforts to rouse the Dalesmen Gustavus 

chosen Leader. 

ONE morning, in the early autumn of 1519, a young 
man, clad in the coarse garments of a drover, 
made a hasty exit from the gate of Kalo Castle, and 
i turning into the forest proceeded along the western 
: shore of Kalo Bay. His step was firm and vigorous, 
: and indicated by its rapidity that the wayfarer was en- 
- deavoring to elude pursuit. Though apparently not 
! over twenty-four, there was something about the trav- 
: eller's face and bearing that gave him the look of a 
person prematurely old. Of large frame, tall and broad- 
shouldered, with heavy massive face, high cheek-bones, 
a careworn dark blue eye, large straight nose, and com- 
pressed lips, — the under lip projecting slightly, — he 
would have been pointed out anywhere as a man not 
easily to be led. The face would not, perhaps, be re- 
garded as particularly intellectual; but determination 



60 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. HI. 

and energy were stamped on every feature, and every 
movement of the body displayed strength and power 
of endurance. It was pre-eminently the face and body 
of one made to govern rather than to obey. Such, in 
his twenty -fourth year, was Gustavus Yasa. He had 
made his escape from Kalo Castle, and was fleeing 
with all speed to Lubeck, the busy, enterprising head of 
the Hanseatic League. 

His way led him through some of the most pictur- 
esque spots in Denmark. It was a lovely rolling coun- 
try, with fertile fields and meadows, relieved in places 
by little clumps of forest, beneath which he could often 
discern the time-worn front of some grim old mansion. 
Sheep and cattle were grazing on the hillsides. Thatch- 
roofed huts, with plastered walls, were all about him. 
The fields, in those September days, were red with 
buckwheat. Occasionally a broad meadow spread out 
before him, and, to avoid the husbandmen gathering in 
their crops, he was often forced to make a long circuit 
through thick forests of beech and maple. Here and 
there he came on mighty barrows raised over the bodies 
of Danish warriors and kings. Well might it make his 
blood boil within him to witness these honors heaped 
upon the Danes for their deeds of blood and cruelty to 
his fathers. Through such scenes, weary and footsore, 
in constant dread of his pursuers, and with dark mis- 
givings as to the fate before him, he pressed on, until 
at last, near the end of September, the gray walls of 
Lubeck, to which he had looked forward as a refuge, 
stood before him and he entered in. 1 

1 Svauing, Christ. II } p. 387 ; and Svart, G-ust. I.'s kr'on., p. 8. 



1519-21.] FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS. 61 

Lubeck, the capital of the Hanse Towns, and by 
virtue of this position monarch of the northern seas, 
had been for three centuries a bitter foe to Denmark. 
At intervals the Danish kings had sought to check the 
naval supremacy of Lubeck, and more than once the 
two powers had been at open war. Of late, by reason 
of dissensions among the Towns, Denmark had gradu- 
ally been gaining the upper hand. But Lubeck was 
still very far from acknowledging the right of Den- 
mark to carry on an independent trade, and the grow- 
ing power of the Danish kings only added fuel to the 
flame. Lubeck was, therefore, at this time a peculiarly 
favorable asylum for one who was at enmity with Chris- 
tiern. Gustavus doubtless had reckoned on this ad- 
vantage, and had resolved to throw himself on the 
mercy of the town. He went directly to the senate, 
laid his case before them, and asked them boldly for 
a ship and escort to take him back to Sweden. This 
request apparently was more than they were prepared 
to grant. They hesitated, and in the mean time the 
commandant of Kalo Castle tracked his prisoner to 
Lubeck, and appeared before the senate to demand that 
he be surrendered. Many of the senators, unwilling to 
incur the wrath of Christiern, were minded to give him 
up. Others, however, were opposed to such a course. 
As a result, all action in the matter was for the time 
suspended. Eight weary months dragged on, Gustavus 
throughout that period remaining in Lubeck. Finally, 
in May, 1520, one of the burgomasters, whose friendship 
the youth had won, espoused his cause, and he was al- 
lowed to sail for Sweden. By good fortune he steered 



62 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IIL 

clear of the Danish fleet, and on the 31st of May set 
foot again on his native soil, near Kalmar. 1 

Meantime the Danish arms had not been idle. Soon 
after the overthrow of Trolle and the destruction of his 
castle, the king of Denmark had despatched a messen- 
ger to Rome, to enlist the Holy Father in his cause. 
Pope Leo, reluctant to take upon himself to decide a 
matter of whose merits he could know so little, ap- 
pointed the archbishop of Lund, aided by a Danish 
bishop, to investigate the question and report to him. 
A tribunal so composed could scarcely be expected 
to render other verdict than that which Christiern 
wished. They reported adversely to the regent. Sture 
and his adherents were therefore excommunicated by 
the pope, and all church ministrations interdicted 
throughout Sweden. To a pious people such a blow 
was terrible in the extreme. All church bells were 
for the moment hushed, the church doors barred, 
and the souls of an entire nation doomed to eternal 
death. But even in the face of this calamity the re- 
gent persevered. He refused to restore Trolle to his 
post, or even to make him amends for his losses. On 
this news being brought to Rome, the pontiff made no 
attempt to hide his wrath. He wrote at once to Chris- 
tiern, with instructions to enter Sweden and inflict pun- 
ishment on those who had thus set at naught the papal 
power. Christiern was entranced. As champion of 
the pope he felt certain of success. Without delay he 
collected all the forces in the kingdom, horse and foot, 

1 Rensel, Berdttelse, p. 17 ; Svaning, Christ. II, pp. 387-388 ; and 
Svart, Gust. I.'s krbn., pp. 8-9. 






1519-21.] FLIGHT OF GUSTAVTJS. 63 

and placed them under the command of a gallant young 
officer, Otto Krumpen, with orders to invade Sweden 
from the south. They landed in the early days of Jan- 
uary, 1520, and proceeded northwards, ravaging the 
country as they went. Sture at once issued a broadside 
to the people, calling them to arms. He likewise sent 
his messengers to Trolle, to beg him to use his influ- 
ence against the enemies of Sweden. The deposed arch- 
bishop, now cringing before his victor, yielded his assent. 
Sture, thus emboldened, moved forward with his army 
to meet the Danes. Knowing that they were advancing 
through the province of Yestergbtland, and that their 
line of march in the winter season would be across the 
lakes, Sture took up his position in a narrow cove at 
the northern end of Lake Asunden. In the centre of 
this cove, through which the Danes must pass, he raised 
a huge bulwark of felled trees, and within the bulwark 
stationed his infantry, with provisions enough to last 
two months. He then chopped up the ice about the 
fort, and retired to the north with his cavalry to await 
the onset. It was not long he had to wait. On the 
18th of January the Danish army drew near, and see- 
ing the fortification began to storm it with their cata- 
pults. As they approached, the Swedish cavalry, with 
Sture at their head, dashed out along the shore to meet 
them. The regent was mounted on a fiery charger, and 
carried into the very thickest of the fight. But scarcely 
had the first shot been fired when a missile glancing 
along the ice struck Sture's horse from under him, and 
in a moment horse and rider were sprawling on the ice. 
So soon as Sture could be extricated, he was found to 



64 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

have received an ugly wound upon the thigh. His fol- 
lowers bore him bleeding from the field, and hastened 
with his lacerated body to the north. But the battle 
was not yet over. Long and hot it raged about the 
fortress on the ice. Twice the Danish troops made a 
mad assault, and after heavy losses were repulsed. At 
last, however, their heavy catapults began to tell. The 
sides of the bulwark weakened, and the Danish army 
by a vigorous onslaught burst open a passage, and put 
the Swedish infantry to the sword. This victory was 
followed by a night of riot, the Swedes thus gaining 
time to collect the scattered remnants of their army. 
With a single impulse, though without a leader, they 
fled across the marshy meadows of Vestergotland to the 
north. Their goal was Tiveden, a dreary jungle of 
stunted pines and underbrush, through which it was 
expected the enemy would have to pass. Here after two 
days' march they gathered, and threw up a mighty bar- 
rier of felled trees and brushwood, thinking in that way 
to impede the passage of the Danes. All about them 
the land, though not mountainous, was rough and rug- 
ged in the extreme, huge bowlders and fragments of 
rock lying about on every side. In spots the under- 
growth was wanting, but its place was generally filled 
by little lakes and bogs, quite as difficult to traverse as 
the forest. In this region the patriots collected, and 
with undaunted spirit once more awaited the coming of 
the Danes. Again they were not disappointed. The 
Danish army, recovering from its night of revelry, 
proceeded on the track of the fugitives, stormed their 
barrier, and on the 1st of February put them once 



1519-21.] FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS. 65 

more to flight. This done, the invaders pressed for- 
ward, burning, robbing, murdering, and affixing bans to 
every church door, till they arrived at Yesteras. 1 

Let us turn for a moment to another scene. Sture, 
who had been carried bleeding from the field of battle, 
had been taken first to Orebro. But the journey over 
the ice and snow at the dead of winter so aggravated 
his wound that it was clear to all he could take no 
further part in carrying on the war. He gave orders 
therefore to be removed to Stockholm, where he might 
be under the tender care and sympathy of his wife. It 
was God's will, however, that he should never see her 
more. On the 2d of February, when almost within sight 
of the castle walls, he died ; and the loved one for whose 
sympathy he had longed was given nothing but her hus- 
band's lifeless corpse. 2 They buried of him all that 
earth could bury ; but his undaunted spirit remained still 
among his people, cheering them in their misfortunes, 
and ever calling upon them to resist the hand of the 
oppressor. Sten Sture' s character is one which draws 
forth a warmth of sentiment such as can be felt for no 
other character of his time. Living in an age when 
hypocrisy was looked upon with honor, and when false- 
I hood was deemed a vice only when unsuccessful, he 
; showed in all his dealings, whether with friends or foes, 
^ a steadfast integrity of purpose with an utter ignorance 

1 Svenska medeltid. rim-kron., vol. iii. pp. 210-212 ; Olaus Petri, 
Svenska krbn., pp. 316-317 ; Johannes Magni, Be omn. Goth., p. 780 ; 
Svaning, Christ. II, pp. 173, 279, and 281-299 ; and Laurent. Petri, 

iThen Svenska chr'6n. } p. 144. 
1 Ibid. 

5 



66 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

of the art of dissimulation. Not "a stain can history fix 
upon his memory. Highly gifted as a statesman, cour- 
ageous on the field of battle, ever courteous in diplomacy, 
and warm and sympathetic in the bosom of his family, 
his figure stands forth as one of the shining examples of 
the height to which human character can attain. It is 
with a sigh we leave him, and turn again to trace the 
history of his people. 

Grim ruin now stared the patriot army in the face. 
Bereft of the only person who seemed competent to 
guide them, beaten at every point, without arms or 
provisions, and with a horde of trained and well- 
armed soldiers at their heels, the fleeing patriots came 
straggling into Strengnas on the Malar. Hubbub and 
confusion reigned supreme. Many of the magnates 
counselled immediate surrender. Others, somewhat 
more loyal to their country, raised a timid voice in 
favor of continuing the war, but no one ventured to 
come forth and lead his fellow-countrymen against the 
foe. Thus they frittered away the precious moments 
while the Danes were getting ready for another onset. 
All this time there was one brave heart still beating for 
them in the capital. The regent's widow, nothing 
daunted by her own calamity or by the disasters that 
had come upon her husband's people, kept sending mes- 
sengers one after another to implore them to unite in 
defence of their native land. At length it seemed as if 
her supplications were destined to prevail. A firmer 
purpose spread among them, and they girded up their 
loins for another conflict. Their spark of courage, 
however, proved abortive. No sooner did the enemy 



1519-21.] FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS. 67 

again appear than the patriots turned their backs and 
fled in wild dismay. On coming once more together 
after this bloodless battle, they resolved without further 
ado to lay down arms. A letter was despatched to 
Krumpen requesting parley. This was granted ; and on 
the 22d of February it was agreed that the two parties 
should hold a conference in Upsala on the 3d of March, 
for the purpose of making terms. The Swedish party 
. then urged Christina to attend the conference. She 
• however turned a deaf ear to their entreaties, and sent 
off a despatch at once to Dantzic begging for aid against 

- King Christiern ; so the conference began without her. 
i As a preliminary, Krumpen produced a document from 
I the king of Denmark empowering him to offer terms 
: of peace. This done, a proposition to declare allegiance 
t to King Christiern was at once brought forward ; and at 
i the instance of Gustaf Trolle and the other Danish- 
t minded magnates present, the proposal was finally ac- 
3 cepted, though not until Krumpen had consented to 
s certain terms on which the patriots insisted. These 
i terms were that all past offences against the Danish 
i! crown should be forgiven, that all fiefs hitherto granted 

- to their fellow-countrymen should be preserved, and 
that Sweden should continue to be governed in accord- 

p ance with her ancient laws and customs. The document 
f reciting these terms was issued on tlie*6th of March, and 
on the 31st it was confirmed by Christiern. 1 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska fcrbn., pp. 318-320 ; Johannes Magni, Be omn. 
Goth., p. 781 ; Svaning, Christ. 77., pp. 299-315 ; Laurent. Petri, Then 
Svenska chron., p. 145 ; Bidrag till Skand. hist., vol. v. pp. 618-623 ; 
'. and Kongl. och furst.fdrlijkn., pp. 437-440. 



68 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. IH. 

The main body of the Swedish nation being thus again 
in the hand of Denmark, it was expected that Christina 
would no longer dare to offer resistance. It was there- 
fore resolved to approach her once more upon the sub- 
ject. An armed body of some three thousand men was 
despatched forthwith to Stockholm, a couple of am- 
bassadors being sent ahead to invite Christina to a con- 
ference outside the town. The reception which they 
met was such as to convince them that the regent's 
widow possessed, at any rate, a portion of her husband's 
courage. No sooner did they near the capital than the 
portcullis was raised and a volley fired upon them from 
within the walls. Thus discomfited, the ambassadors 
withdrew, and Krumpen, having insufficient forces to 
undertake a siege, returned to Upsala, and the Swedish 
forces that had joined him retired to their homes. 1 

Christina was thus afforded a short respite in which 
to gather strength. The bravery and determination 
which she had displayed, even from the moment of her 
husband's death, already began to inspire confidence 
among the people. Most of the great men in the realm, 
intimidated by the threats or allured by the promises of 
Krumpen, had sworn allegiance to the king of Denmark. 
But the chief castles were still held by the patriots, and 
throughout the land there was a strong undercurrent of 
feeling against the Danes. In most parts the people 
were only waiting to see which way the wind was going 
to blow, and for the time being it seemed likely to blow 
in favor of the Swedes. The regent's widow used every 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., pp. 320-321 ; and Svaning, Christ. II, 
pp. 316-320. 



1519-21.] FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS. 69 

effort to rouse the people from their lethargy, and with 
increased success. All winter long the king of Den- 
mark was burning to send reinforcements, and dickering 
with the Powers of Europe to obtain the necessary funds. 
But his credit was bad, and it was only with great diffi- 
culty that he at last despatched a body of some fifteen 
hundred men. Christina, on the other hand, was being 
reinforced by the Hanse Towns along the Baltic, and in 
the early spring the current of sentiment had set so 
strongly in her favor that a plot was formed to v drive off 
the Danish troops beleaguering the Castle of Vesteras, on 
the Malar. So soon as this plot reached the ears of the 
Danish leader, he resolved to break the siege and hurry 
off to join the forces of Krumpen at Upsala. He did 
so; but he did so none too soon. He found his path 
beset by the peasantry lying in ambush in the woods, 
and before he succeeded in pushing through them, he 
was led into a bloody battle from which the patriots 
came off victorious, though their leader fell. 1 

Emboldened by this success, Christina now sent a 
messenger among the peasantry to collect a force with 
which to attack the Danish army in Upsala. In a short 
space of time he had gathered a strong band of peas- 
antry and miners, with whom, reinforced by a detach- 
ment from Stockholm, he marched forward to Upsala. 
As the patriots approached the town, a squad sta- 
tioned by Krumpen outside the walls descried them and 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., pp. 321-322 ; Svaning, Christ. II., pp. 
' 320-329 ; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., p. 145 ; Christ. II.'s 
arkiv, vol. i. pp. 147-152 ; and Nya Keillor till Finl. Medeltidshist., 
pp. 704-705. 



70 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IH. 

sounded the alarm. This was on Good Friday, April 
6, 1520, and Krumpen was in the cathedral when the 
news arrived. Without delay he hurried forth and gave 
orders that every man, both horse and foot, should gird 
on his armor and assemble in the square. As soon as 
they had come together, he led them outside the town 
and drew up his line of battle close beneath the walls. 
In front of this line he formed a solid phalanx, with a 
wing on either side composed of horse and foot. Still 
farther ahead he placed his catapults, with the largest of 
which he opened fire first, the sharpshooters at the same 
time picking off the enemy. The sky was heavily over- 
cast, and at the very beginning of the battle a driving 
storm with rain and sleet came beating down in the 
faces of the Danes, thus blinding them. Their cavalry, 
too, was almost useless ; for the ground was covered with 
melting snow, which formed in great cakes under the 
horses' hoofs, and soon sent horses and riders sprawling 
on the ground. The patriots, however, being without 
cavalry or muskets, suffered little from the rain/ They 
were not slow to take advantage of the opportunity 
thus afforded them, and pressed forward madly on the 
left wing until finally it began to yield. The standard- 
bearer, half frozen, was about to drop the standard, 
when a Danish veteran rushed forward, seized it from 
his hands, and fixed it in the nearest fence, at the 
same time shouting : " Forward, my men ! Remember 
your own and your fathers' valor ! Shall this standard 
of your country fall unstained into the hands of the 
enemy ? " At these words the company rallied and, 
hacking at the hands of the patriots who strove to 



1519-21.] UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 71 

pluck the standard from the fence, compelled them to 
withdraw. This company then joined the others, and 
a long and bitter conflict followed, the two armies 
fighting face to face. At length, as soon as the snow 
began to be well packed, the Danish cavalry came to 
the front once more, and after a series of violent 
charges, broke in two places through the enemy's ranks. 
The patriots, now cut into three distinct bodies, fled 
in wild despair. One body of them was surrounded 
and massacred on the spot. Another fled to a brick- 
kiln near at hand, hoping thus to be sheltered from the 
fury of the Danes. But they were pursued, the whole 
place was set on fire, and all who issued from it were put 
to the sword. The third portion of the Swedes fled in 
terror to the river, but many of them weighted down 
by their arms were drowned. Thus ended a fearful 
battle. The snow was literally drenched with blood. 
Of the Swedes, who numbered 30,000, it is said two 
thirds were killed ; while the Danes, 8,000 strong, lost 
half. 1 

After this fearful slaughter both parties were for the 
nonce more cautious. Messengers were sent by each 
throughout the land to gain recruits, but they were 
careful to avoid a general conflict. Skirmishes and 
trickery were the order of the day. The patriots were 
frittering away their chances for lack of a leader, and 
Krumpen was waiting for the arrival of King Chris- 
tiern. This was delayed only till the breaking of the 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska Term., pp. 322-323; Svaning, Christ. II., 
pp. 330-341 ; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., p. 145 ; and Bidrag 
till Skand. hist., vol. v. pp. 631-632. 



72 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

ice. Towards the close of April, 1520, Christiern set 
sail with a large fleet for Sweden, having on board the 
Archbishop of Lund and some other influential pre- 
lates, to lend to his expedition the aspect of a religious 
crusade. Proceeding first to Kalmar, he called upon 
the castle to surrender, but in vain. Seeing that his only 
mode of reducing the castle was by siege, he resolved for 
the present to give it up, and after issuing a broadside 
to the people of Vestergotland, summoning them to a 
conference to be held a month later, on the 3d of June, 
he advanced to Stockholm and dropped anchor just out- 
side the town. This was on the 27th of May, four days 
before the landing of Gustavus Vasa on the Swedish 
coast. 1 

The arrival of Gustavus Yasa marks an epoch in the 
history of Sweden. It is the starting-point of one of 
the most brilliant and successful revolutions that the 
world has ever known. Other political upheavals have 
worked quite as great results, and in less time. But rarely 
if ever has a radical change in a nation's development 
been so unmistakably the work of a single hand, — and 
that, too, the hand of a mere youth of four-and-twenty. 
The events immediately preceding the return of Gustavus 
prove conclusively, if they prove anything, how impotent 
are mere numbers without a leader. For years the 
whole country had been almost continuously immersed 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., p. 323 ; Svaning, Christ. II., pp. 341- 
353; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chr'dn., pp. 145-146; Bidrag till 
Skand. hist., vol. v. pp. 632-634 ; Christ. Ws arkiv., vol. i. pp. 152- 
153; Dipt. Dal., vol. i. pp. 231-235; and Kongl. och furst. forlijkn., 
pp. 440-442. 



1519-21.] UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 73 

in blood. One moment the peasantry were all in arms, 
burning to avenge their wrongs, and the next moment, 
just on the eve of victory, they scattered, each satisfied 
with promises that his wrongs would be redressed and 
willing to let other persons redress their own. What was 
needed above all else was a feeling of national unity and 
strength; and it was this feeling that from the very 
outset the young Gustavus sought to instil in the minds 
of the Swedish people. As we now follow him in his 
romantic wanderings through dreary forest and over 
ice and snow and even down into the bowels of the 
earth, we shall observe that the one idea which more 
than any other filled his mind was the idea of a united 
Swedish nation. At first we shall find this idea laughed 
at as visionary, and its promoter driven to the far cor- 
ners of the land. But before three years are over, we 
shall see a Swedish nation already rising from the dust, 
until at last it takes a high place in the firmament of 
European powers. 

The memorable soil on which Gustavus disembarked 
lay two miles south of Kalmar ; and he hurried to the ( 
town without delay. Kalmar was at this time, next to 
Stockholm, the strongest town in Sweden. Lying on two 
or three small islands, it was guarded from the main- 
land by several narrow streams, while on the east it was 
made secure through a stupendous castle from attack by 
sea. This castle was at the time in charge of the widow 
of the last commandant, and was strongly garrisoned, 
as was also the town below, with mercenaries from 
abroad. On entering the town Gustavus was received 
with kindness by the burghers, and sought in every way 



74 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

to rouse their drooping spirits. He even approached the 
German soldiers with a view to inspire comfort in their 
souls. But his words of courage fell on stony ground. 
It is the nature of mercenaries to fight like madmen 
when the prospect of reward is bright, but no sooner 
does a cloud gather on the horizon, than they throw 
down their arms and begin to clamor for their pay. 
Such at that moment was the state of things in Kalmar. 
Christiern, backed by the leading powers of Europe, and 
upheld in his expedition by the authority of Kome, had 
just arrived in Sweden with a powerful army, and was 
now lying at anchor in the harbor of the capital. The 
Swedish forces, broken in many places and without a 
leader, were gradually scattering to their homes. The 
cloud that had long been gathering over the head of 
Sweden seemed about to burst. The future was already 
black, and a listening ear could easily catch the mutter- 
ings of the approaching storm. The Kalmar mercena- 
ries therefore were only irritated by the importunities of 
the youthful refugee, and it was only through the inter- 
cession of the burghers that he was saved from violence 
and allowed to leave the town. 1 

To revisit the scenes of his boyhood and his father's 
house was no longer possible. The brave Sten Sture, 
from whose palace he had been stolen two years since, 
was lying beneath the sod ; and Stockholm, held by the 
young man's aunt Christina, was in a state of siege. 
All access to her or to the capital would have been at 
the peril of his life. He therefore renounced for the 
time being his desire to see his family, and proceeded 
1 Svart, Gust. Us kr'on., p. 9. 



1519-21.] UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 75 

stealthily to approach the capital by land. His way lay 
first across the dreary moors and swamps of Smaland. 
Here he went from house to house, inciting the peas- 
antry to rebel. Among others he sought out some of 
his father's tenants, in the hope that they at least would 
hear him. But he found them all sunk in lethargy, 
cowering under the sword of Christiern. His voice was 
truly the voice of one crying in the wilderness. The 
golden hope of lifting his country out of her misery 
seemed shattered at a blow. Instead of being received 
with open arms as a deliverer, he was jeered at in every 
town, and finally so bitter grew the public sentiment 
against him that he was forced to flee. Hardly daring 
to show his face lest he should be shot down by the 
soldiers of the king, he betook himself to a farm owned 
by his father on the south shore of the Malar. Here he 
remained in secrecy through the summer, hoping for 
better times, — an unwilling witness of the subjugation 
of his land, — till finally he was driven from his refuge 
by an act of Christiern so revolting in its villany that it 
made the whole of Europe shudder. 1 

Christiern, on the 27th of May, was riding at anchor 
in the harbor of the capital. Among his men was Hem- 
ming Gad, over the spirit of whose dream had come a 
vast change since his capture some eighteen months 
before. Just when this change began, or how it was 
effected, is unknown. But already, in March of 1520, the 
report had spread through Sweden that Gad had turned 
traitor to his native land, and we find him writing to 
the people of Stockholm to tell them that he and they 
1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kr'un., pp. 9-10. 



76 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

had done Christiern wrong, and begging them to recon- 
cile themselves to Christiern as he had done. Gad 
was a statesman, — a word synonymous in those days 
with charlatan, — and he did not hesitate to leave his 
falling comrades in order to join the opposite party on 
the road to power. Doubtless Christiern took care that 
he lost nothing by his change of colors, and doubtless it 
was with a view to aid himself that he brought Gad 
back to Sweden. 1 

No sooner did Christiern arrive off Stockholm than 
Krumpen came with Archbishop Trolle from Upsala, to 
receive him. They held a council of war on board the 
fleet, and resolved to lay siege once more to Stockholm. 
The capital was by this time well supplied with food; 
but the summer had only just begun, and Christiern 
thought by using strict precautions to starve the town 
ere winter. Pitching his camp along the shore both 
north and south, and blockading the harbor on the east, 
he sent messengers through the land to enlist the peas- 
antry in his cause. Many of them he propitiated by a 
generous distribution of salt which he had brought with 
him from Denmark. Things, however, were not entirely 
to his taste. Christina too had ambassadors inciting 
the people to revolt. On the 27th of June a large body 
of the patriots laid siege to the palace of the bishop of 
Linkoping. About the same time also the monastery 
of Mariefred, inhabited by the old archbishop Ulfsson, 
was threatened ; and a throng of peasants marched to 
Strengnas to burn and plunder. How crude the patriot 
forces at this time were is apparent from a letter from 
1 Bidrag till Skand. hist., vol. v. pp. 624-627- 



1519-21.] UPKISING OF THE DALESMEN. 77 

a Danish officer to Krumpen, in which it is said that out 
of a body of about three thousand only one hundred and 
fifty were skilled soldiers. Christiern finally deemed it 
best to send a force to Vesteras to storm the castle. 
This was done, the castle fell, and the officer in com- 
mand was taken prisoner. It was now August, and the 
Stockholmers, no aid thus far having come to them from 
abroad, were losing heart. In this state of things the 
king sent Gad and others inside the walls to urge the 
people to surrender. Christina and her sturdy burghers 
received the messengers with scorn ; but the magnates, 
already more than half inclined to yield, vehemently 
advocated the proposal. Soon the whole town was in an 
uproar. A riot followed, and some blood was shed. 
But at last Christina and her adherents yielded, and 
delegates were sent outside the town to parley. After 
several days of bickering it was agreed that Stockholm 
should be surrendered on the 7th of September next, 
but on the other hand that all hostility to Christiern 
and to his fathers, as well as to Archbishop Trolle and 
the other prelates, should be forgiven. 1 

Two days later, on the 7th of September, the burgo- 
masters crossed over in a body to Sodermalm, and 
delivered the keys of the city gates into the hands of 
Christiern. Then, with bugles sounding and all the 
pomp and ceremony of a triumph, he marched at the 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., pp. 323-326 ; Svaning, Christ. II., pp. 
353-362 ; Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., p. 146 ; Ludvigsson, 
Collect., p. 87 ; Bidrag till Skand. hist., vol. v. pp. 637-648 ; Dipl. Dal, 
vol. i. pp. 235-236 ; Kongl. och furst.forlijkn., pp. 444-150; and Nya 
Kallor till Finl. Medeltidshist., pp. 705-708. 



78 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

head of his army through the city walls and up to the 
Great Church, where he offered thanksgiving to Almighty 
God. That over, he proceeded to the citadel and took 
possession. The same day and the day following he ob- 
tained two documents, — one from the Cabinet members 
then in Stockholm, and the other from the burgomaster 
and Council, — granting the castle to Christiern during 
his life, and at his death to his son Hans, or, if he should 
die before the king, then to the king's wife Elizabeth, 
to revert, after the death of all three, to the Cabinet 
of Sweden. Christiern then appointed his officers 
throughout the country, after which he sailed away 
for Denmark. 1 

Not long, however, was Sweden freed from his con- 
taminating presence. Within a month he had returned, 
breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the 
nation that he had vanquished. A general diet had 
been summoned to meet at Stockholm on the first day of 
November. As this diet was to be immediately followed 
by the coronation of the king, special efforts had been 
made to secure a large attendance of the Danish party. 
The venerable Ulfsson, now tottering to the grave, had 
recently written to Christiern that he would be present 
at the triumphal entry into Stockholm, " even if," as he 
says, "I have to crawl upon my knees;" and he was 
present at the diet. When the appointed day arrived, 
the delegates were summoned to a hill outside the 
town, and were shut in on every side by the pikes and 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., p. 326; Svaning, Christ. II, p. 362; 
Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chrbn., p. 146; Acta hist. Reg. Christ. IL, 
pp. 3-4 ; and Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. i. pp. 153-157. 



1519-21.] UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 79 

rapiers of the royal soldiers. The proceedings were 
cut and dried throughout. A pompous oration was de- 
livered by one of the king's satellites, declaring the 
grounds on which his master claimed the throne of 
Sweden, at the close of which the people were asked 
whether they would have him for their king, and with 
their tyrants' weapons brandished before their eyes they 
answered yes. With this elaborate farce the ceremony 
ended and the people scattered, being first ordered to 
return on the following Sunday and share in the corona- 
tion festivities of the king whom they had thus elected 
against their will. The ostentatious mummery of these 
mock ceremonies would cause a smile but for the frightful 
tragedy with which they were to close. None but the 
blindest partisans could have felt anything else than 
aversion for this monster on whose head they were to 
place the crown. Even his own friends hated him, and 
despised the very ground on which he trod. But it was 
the age of heaven-born rulers ; so the masses bent their 
knee and sang their paeans to the demon whom fate had 
made their king. 1 

It was on the 4th of November — a dreary Sunday — 
that the tragedy began. On that day, with a great flour- 
ish of trumpets and display of power, the monarch 
proceeded to the Great Church to be crowned. The 
huge edifice was filled to overflowing. From north and 
south, from mountain and valley, all of note in the three 
kingdoms had flocked thither on this day to behold the 
imposing spectacle. Gustaf Trolle, now once more arch- 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., pp. 326-327 ; Svaning, Christ. II, pp. 
363-366 ; and Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., p. 147. 



80 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IH. 

bishop, stood at the high altar, lined on either side by 
the six Swedish bishops and the Upsala Chapter. The 
whole chancel was one blaze of gold and silver ; and as 
the king marched through the main aisle with his splen- 
did retinue, every eye was bent upon him and every 
whisper hushed. Proceeding straight up to the high 
altar, he bent his knee before the God whose name he 
was now so soon to desecrate. Then the archbishop 
raised from the altar a crown of gold glittering with 
precious jewels, and placed it reverently upon the mon- 
arch's brow. The sacred rite of consecration over, the 
monarch rose and turning was met by a herald of 
Charles V., who came from his master bringing a fleece 
which he attached with chains of gold around the mon- 
arch's neck, thus receiving him into the great Burgun- 
dian League. After this, a throne was placed before the 
altar, and Christiern conferred the order of knighthood 
on Krumpen and some of his other officers. It was ob- 
served, however, that all thus honored were of Danish 
birth. With this the ceremony of consecration closed, 
and the whole concourse poured forth once more from 
the house of God. 1 

During three days the whole town now was given over 
to mirth and merrymaking. These days seem like the 
lull that goes before a storm. All strife was ended, 
all past injuries forgotten. The future seemed full of 
promise, and the Swedish peasants went hurrying back 
to their firesides to tell their wives and children of the 
peace and blessings promised them by Christiern. But 

1 Olaus Petri, Svenska kron., pp. 327-328 ; Svaning, Christ. IL, 
pp. 366-369 ; and Laurent. Petri, Then Svenska chron., pp. 147-148. 



1519-21.] UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 81 

it was not yet. Scarce had the echo of warfare died 
upon the wind when a frightful tragedy took place in 
Stockholm which sent a thrill of horror to the heart of 
Europe. At noon on the Wednesday following the coro- 
nation all the Swedish magnates with the authorities of 
Stockholm were summoned to the citadel and ushered 
into the august presence of their king. As they ranged 
themselves about the great hall, the nobles and their 
wives, all wondering what this dismal summons meant, 
they heard the castle gates grate upon their hinges, and 
a cold shudder gradually spread among them, as the 
thought now flashed upon them for the first time that 
they were no longer free. They had been decoyed by the 
fulsome promises of their ruler into the trap which he 
had laid. The noose was already tightening around 
their necks. Before them, on the throne hallowed by 
memories of former rulers, sat their tyrant, grim and 
lowering. Not a trace of mercy was visible in his feat- 
ures. Through a long pause, awful in its uncertainty, 
they waited, the cold sweat fast gathering on their 
brows. At length the pause was ended. Archbishop 
Trolle, chuckling at the near prospect of his revenge, 
stepped forward and addressed the throne. He began 
by portraying in ardent language the sufferings he had 
undergone. He declared that the cathedral at Upsala 

' had been plundered while he was being besieged in 
Staket. He dwelt at great length on the wrong which 
had been done him in the destruction of his castle. He 

' drew attention to the conspiracy entered into against 
him by certain of the magnates, and their united oath 
never again to recognize him as archbishop. Finally, he 



82 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

denounced the conspirators by name, and called upon 
the king to visit them with the punishment which they 
deserved. At this Christina was summoned before the 
throne and asked for an explanation of her husband's 
conduct. She was at first struck dumb with terror; 
then, recovering herself, she pleaded that her husband 
had been no more guilty than the other conspirators, as 
would appear from the document which they all had 
signed. Christiern, learning for the first time of this 
document, demanded that it be produced. When this 
was done, and the king had examined it to his heart's 
content, he gave it to his clerk to copy, and called on 
each of the signers in turn to answer for his act. Chris- 
tiern with his Cabinet then withdrew, leaving the pa- 
triot leaders in the great hall guarded by a body of Da- 
nish soldiers. At dusk two Danish officers entered with 
lanterns, "like Judas Iscariot" says a contemporary, 
and the doomed magnates were led out to the tower and 
thrown into prison to await the morn. When day broke, 
Christiern ordered the trumpets sounded and proclama- 
tion made that no citizen should leave his house. About 
noon the condemned patriots were led from their dun- 
geons to the Grand Square, and huddled together be- 
neath the platform on which they were to bleed. The 
citizens had by this time been permitted to leave their 
houses and had gathered around the foot of the scaffold, 
from which they were ' addressed in soothing language 
by several of the Danish Cabinet, whose words however 
were interrupted by constant cries of the victims calling 
on their fellow-countrymen to avenge them. At last the 
agony of suspense was over. One after another the con- 



1519-21.] UPKISING OF THE DALESMEN. 83 

demned mounted the 'scaffold and were decapitated with 
all the refinement of cruelty that the bloodthirsty mon- 
arch and his satellites could devise. Over seventy in all 
were slaughtered, and their gory bodies piled up in one 
promiscuous mass in the centre of the square. On the 
following day the scene of carnage was renewed, sev- 
eral suspected citizens being seized in their houses and 
dragged to the place of blood. One poor wretch was 
executed for no other reason than because he was dis- 
covered weeping at the sight of his friends' death. Not 
till the following Saturday was the carnage over and the 
weltering mass conveyed outside the town. The body 
of Sture, together with the body of one of his babes, 
was dug up by Christiern's orders and burned, and the 
property of all who were slaughtered was seized and 
confiscated. Having thus effected his diabolical pur- 
pose and ridded himself of the flower of the Swedish 
patriots, the gory monarch set his officers at the head 
of affairs, and taking Christina and her two boys with 
him, marched through the land to Denmark, where he 
threw Christina and her children into prison. 1 

Through all that summer and autumn Gustavus Yasa 
had been cooped up in his hiding-place on the Malar. 
Once, in peril of his life, he had approached the venera- 
ble Archbishop Ulfsson and solicited his advice. But 
he found little comfort there. Ulfsson urged him to 

1 Svenska medeltid. rim-kron., vol. iii. pp. 218-219 and 233-234; 
Eliesen, Chron. Skib. p. 569; Olaus Petri, Svenska krbn., pp. 328-334; 
Johannes Magni, De omn. Goth., p. 781 ; Olaus Magni, Hist, de gent. 
Sept., p. 612 ; Svaning, Christ. II., pp. 369-384 ; Laurent. Petri, Then 
Svenska chron., pp. 148-150 ; and Handl. rbr. Skand. hist., vol. ii. pp. 
1-12. 



84 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. III. 

go boldly to Christiern and beg for mercy. He even 
offered to intercede for the young man, and encouraged 
him with the assertion that he had been included among 
those to whom the king had promised immunity at the 
surrender of Christina. Gustavus, however, knew too 
well what reliance he could place on Christiern's word. 
With a downcast spirit he went back to his hiding-place, 
resolved to await further developments before he ven- 
tured forth. It was a time of harrowing suspense, the 
iron entering into his very soul. Each day brought new 
intelligence of the victories of Christiern and the grad- 
ual dismemberment of the Swedish forces. His hopes 
were already well-nigh shattered when the report was 
wafted across the lake that his father, along with the 
other patriot leaders, had been slaughtered in the cap- 
ital. Horror-stricken and overwhelmed with grief, he 
sprang to his feet, resolved to brave death rather 
than prolong this agony. Buckling on his sword, he 
mounted one of his father's steeds, and set forth for the 
north, filled with the dream of rescuing his native land. 
It was near the 25th of November, and the scenery was 
well in keeping with the dreary thoughts that flooded 
the horseman's mind. The stern gnarled oaks along 
the wayside, twisting their leafless boughs athwart the 
sky, seemed as perverse as the Swedes whom he had 
vainly sought to rouse. Even the frosty soil beneath 
him, unyielding to his tread, recalled the apathy with 
which his fellow-countrymen had listened to his cries. 
Had he been fired solely by a love of Sweden, he would 
very likely long ere this have renounced his hopeless 
task. But a selfish purpose kept him in the path. He 



1519-21.] UPRISING OE THE DALESMEN. 85 

was a pariah, hunted down by his enemies, and driven 
through sheer necessity to play the patriot. It was 
liberty or death. And so he pushed on, resolved 
to mingle among the hardy mountaineers of Dalarne, 
and strive at all hazards to rouse the flagging pulses 
of their hearts. 1 

Crossing Lake Malar about four miles from his fa- 
ther's house, Gustavus hurried through the forests north 
of the lake with all the speed that a patriot's zeal could 
lend. To one companioned by happier thoughts the 
journey in those late autumn days must have been filled 
with delight. Dalarne, through which his journey lay, 
is the paradise of Sweden. As its name imports, it is 
" the land of valleys." The whole province stands high 
above the sea, rising higher as we travel farther north. 
The hills which separate the valleys are mostly crowned 
with pine and fir, and down their sides run broad and 
gently sloping fields. Here and there the scenery is 
varied by a little hamlet nestling along the hillside. 
Little lakes, too, dot the surface of the land, and tiny 
brooks go babbling across the fields. One stream, fa- 
mous in Swedish history, bisects the district from north 
to south, passing through various lakes, and finally 
pours its waters into the Baltic. This tortuous river, 
called the Dalelf, is in some places broad and majestic, 
while in others it is narrow and goes foaming like a cat- 
aract over the rocks. Along the banks of this stream 
Gustavus traced his steps, making first for a village on 
- Lake Runn, where an old Upsala schoolmate dwelt. 
Here he arrived some five days after he left his father's 
1 Svart, Gust. I.'s iron., pp. 10-12. 



86 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IH. 

house, and presenting himself in peasant's dress was 
given refuge. However, he declared to no one who he 
was, probably wishing first to learn how his host and 
others were affected towards the king. While yet un- 
certain what course he should pursue, one of the ser- 
vants noticed that he wore a gold-embroidered shirt, and 
told her master ; and this, coupled with his language 
and general appearance, led to his discovery. He there- 
upon appealed to his old schoolfellow to shield him 
from his enemies, but in vain. The danger was too 
great ; and though full of sympathy for the young 
refugee, he told him he must leave the place. Thus 
once more an outcast, Gustavus hurriedly skirted the 
south shore of the lake, and after a narrow escape by 
breaking through the ice, reached the house of another 
schoolmate, who offered him protection and then went 
off to inform the Danish officers. From this catas- 
trophe Gustavus was rescued by a warning from his 
betrayer's wife, and had fled ere the officers appeared. 
His next asylum was some twenty miles farther north, 
where he found protection at the hands of the parish 
priest. The king's officers were now upon the scent. 
The whole province was alive to the fact that it was 
harboring within its borders the regent's ward. The 
strictest vigilance was therefore necessary in order to 
save his life. So the priest kept him but a week, and 
then hurried him some thirty miles farther through the 
woods to Rattvik, a hillside village at the eastern ex- 
tremity of Lake Siljan. There he tarried several days, 
talking with the peasantry, and urging them to rebel 
against the tyranny of their Danish ruler. He was now 



1519-21.] UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 87 

on ground to be ever afterwards famous in Swedish his- 
tory. Here for the first time his words were heard with 
some degree of favor. The proud spirits of these moun- 
tain peasants had been already often roused by evidences 
of foreign usurpation, and it needed little to induce them 
to rebel. But their isolated position in a measure saved 
them from the burdens of the Danish yoke, and they 
answered they could venture nothing till they had held 
a conference with their neighbors. The disheartened 
outlaw therefore set forth once more. He traversed the 
icy meadows that lie along the eastern side of Lake 
Siljan, and after a journey of about twenty-five miles 
reached the village of Mora, lying at the head of the 
lake. It was on Christmas day that he addressed the 
people of this village. Knowing this to be his last hope 
of success, he took his stand on an elevated mound, and 
gazed over the white fields, dotted here and there with 
little hamlets, and to the snow-clad hills beyond. The 
surroundings added even to the zeal with which his own 
needs made him speak. He portrayed in burning terms 
the wrongs and insults that had been heaped upon the 
Swedish people. He alluded to his own affliction and 
to the general scene of carnage that had taken place in 
Stockholm. He pictured the evils in store for the proud 
highlanders before him, and appealed to them in the 
name of Almighty God to join him in a war for liberty. 
But all this eloquence was wasted. His appeal struck 
no responsive chord. The people flatly refused to give 
him their assistance. He had, therefore, but one course 
left. With no further hope of keeping his whereabouts 
unknown, he hastened with all speed from the town, and 



88 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. HI. 

fled over the ice-bound hills of the west, to seek a last 
asylum in the wilds of Norway. 1 

Black indeed were the clouds now gathering over the 
head of Sweden. Even the liberty-loving province of 
Dalarne had refused to strike a blow for freedom. 
Soon, it seemed, the whole of Sweden would be groaning 
under the burden of a foreign despotism. Yet such an 
isfeue was by the design of Providence to be averted. 
But a few days after the flight of Gustavus out of Mora 
news arrived that Christiern was preparing a journey 
through the land, and had ordered a gallows to be 
raised in every province. Rumor was rife, too, with 
new taxes soon to be imposed. Nor was it long be- 
fore a messenger arrived who confirmed the words of 
Gustavus as to the cruelties in Stockholm, and added 
further that there were many magnates throughout the 
realm who not only had not bowed the knee to Chris- 
tiern, but had declared that rather than do so they would 
die with sword in hand. Then the blood of the vil- 
lagers of Mora boiled within them. Post-haste, and 
trembling lest it were now too late, they put men on the 
track of the young fugitive with orders to push on by 
day and night and not rest till they had found Gustavus 
and brought him back. They found him on the very 
frontier of Norway, and announced to him that their 
people were ready to join his banner and with him 
pour out their blood for freedom. With a joyous heart 
he turned about and hurried back to Mora. The whole 
province was now awake. Rattvik had already had a 
conflict with a body of Danish horsemen ; and when the 
1 Svart, Gust. L's term., pp. 12-15. 



1519-21.] UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 89 

outcast hero appeared once more at Mora, he found a 
vast throng of peasants flocking from every side to join 
his ranks. By common consent he was chosen to be 
their leader and a body of sixteen stout highlanders 
selected to be his guard. This was in the early days of 
1521. The perseverance of the stanch young outlaw 
was rewarded, and the supremacy of Gustavus Vasa 
had begun. 1 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., pp. 15-17. 



Chapter IV. 

WAR OF INDEPENDENCE; ELECTION OF GUSTAVUS TO 
THE THRONE. 1521-1523. 

Causes of the "War. — Character of the Dalesmen. — Growth of the Patriot 
Army. — Didrik Slagheck. — Battle of Koping. — Capture of Vesteras; 
of Upsala. — Skirmish with Trolle. — Skirmishes near Stockholm. — 
Siege of Stegehorg. — Norby. — Rensel. — Brask. — Progress of the 
"War. — Coinage of Gustavus. — Christiern's Troubles in Denmark. — 
Siege of Stockholm. — Fall of Kalmar. — Diet of Strengnas. — Fall of 
Stockholm. — Retrospect of the War. 

THERE are periods in the history of most nations 
when all that has been hallowed by time and cus- 
tom seems of a sudden to lose its sanctity and bow 
down before the commanding influence of some new 
force. These periods are of rare occurrence and gen- 
erally of short duration. They remind one of those 
thunderstorms which burst upon us at the close of a 
sultry August day, unheralded but by the stifling heat 
of a burning sky, and in a few moments leaving the at- 
mosphere behind them pure and clear and cool. Sudden 
and unheralded as they appear, they are yet the direct 
result of a long series of forces, whose ultimate issue 
might have been accurately predicted did we but thor- 
oughly understand the forces themselves. So, too, it is 
with great political upheavals. The revolution which 
drenched the whole of France with blood in 1789 is no 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 91 

more difficult to explain than the thunderstorm which 
drenches the parched earth with rain on a hot mid- 
summer night. It was simply the reaction after a cen- 
tury of oppression, extravagance and vice. In like man- 
ner the great revolution whose development we are about 
to trace was merely the natural result of long years of 
tyranny culminating in the fearful carnage of the au- 
tumn of 1520. The Revolution in Sweden is, however, 
in one respect pre-eminent among the great crises known 
to history. Never was a revolution so thoroughly the 
work of a single man as that in Sweden. From begin- 
ning to end there was one figure whose presence alone 
infused life into a lukewarm people, and who, work- 
ing upon the forces which had been forged by years of 
tyranny, shaped them gradually to his own commanding 
will. The Revolution in Sweden is the history of Gus- 
tavus Yasa. He it was who set the torch, and he, too, 
pointed out the direction in which the flame should 
burn. 

Early in January, 1521, the war of independence 
already had begun. By this time news of the revolt in 
Dalarne had spread throughout the land, and the Danish 
officers were wild with irritation that the young Gus- 
tavus had escaped their clutches. The charge of affairs, 
at the withdrawal of Christiern, had been placed in 
the hands of a wretch scarce less contemptible than 
his master. This was one Didrik Slagheck, a West- 
phalian surgeon who, we are told, had "ingratiated 
himself with Christiern and ravished the wives and 
daughters of the Swedish magnates." Gad, for a time 
the councillor of the Danish king, was now no more. 



92 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

Christiern, shrewdly divining that one who had deserted 
his former master might desert again, had used him to 
mediate for the surrender of Stockholm and had then 
removed his head. In place of the old burgomaster 
and Council of Stockholm, the city was now held by 
satellites of Christiern, and any whose hearts revolted 
against his sickening cruelties were discreet enough to 
hold their tongues. Dalarne had become the only spot 
in Sweden where liberty still lived, and thither all 
liberty-loving Swedes whose hands were not yet tied 
repaired. Whenever these recruits appeared, Gustavus 
placed them in the midst of his little army, and called 
upon them to declare what they had seen of Christiern's 
deeds. It makes a striking picture, this little band of 
patriots, in a far-off mountain region in the dead of win- 
ter, with no arms but their picks and axes, strong only 
in their high resolve, and yet breathing defiance against 
the whole army of the Danish king. Gustavus knew 
the Swedish people well. He knew them slow to move, 
dull of intellect, and averse from reason. But he knew 
also that they were ardent in their emotions, permeated 
with a love of liberty, courageous in defence of their 
ancestral rights ; and he foresaw that if he could once 
but rouse their passions by a vivid picture of Danish 
tyranny, he could make of them the finest soldiers in 
all Christendom. By Lent the little army was four 
hundred strong. With this force Gustavus marched to 
the great copper-mine at Falun, where he seized the 
Danish steward and took possession of the royal rents, 
as well as of a quantity of clothing and some silk which 
he at once turned to a good use as banners for his army. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 93 

He then retired to his camp, but shortly after returned, 
this time fifteen hundred strong. This rapid increase in 
his forces produced an instantaneous effect. No sooner 
did he appear than the miners joined his ranks, and fur- 
ther than that they wrote to their friends in all the 
neighboring provinces to join him too. Gustavus then 
fixed the headquarters of his army near the southern 
boundary of Dalarne, and started, April 3, on a jour- 
ney in person through several of the northern provinces 
to enlist recruits. 1 

Meantime Slagheck had concentrated the Danish for- 
ces in and near the Castle of Vesteras, deeming this the 
best point at which to hold the patriots at bay. One de- 
tachment, indeed, proceeded north as far as the Dalelf, 
on the southern frontier of Dalarne, and encamped there, 
thinking to prevent the enemy from crossing. While 
waiting, the Danish leader is said to have inquired the 
population of Dalarne, and on being told that it was 
about twenty thousand, to have asked how the province 
could support so many. The answer was that the 
people were not used to dainties, that their only drink 
was water, and in hard times their only food a bread 
made from the bark of trees. " Even the Devil," ejacu- 
lated the officer, " could not vanquish men who live on 
wood and water ; " and with that he ordered a retreat. 
Before they got off, however, the Swedes fell upon them 
and drove them home in flight. About the same time 
the burgomaster and Council of Stockholm despatched a 

1 Svaning, Christ. II, pp. 432-433; Svart, Oust. I.'s krm., pp. 
17-18 and 20-21 ; Ludvigsson, Collect., pp. 86-87 ; and Seer, trakt., 
vol. iv. pp. 1-5. 



94 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

letter to the northern provinces, urging them to pay no 
heed to the lies of Gustavus; and Archbishop Trolle, 
after several epistles of a like nature, set sail along the 
coast of the Baltic to the north to use his influence in 
quelling the insurrection. But wherever he tried to 
land he was met by the peasantry with threats and im- 
precations ; and he soon beat a hasty and ignominious 
retreat. 1 

On returning from his recruiting-tour to the head- 
quarters of his army, Gustavus put his men through a 
regular course of training. Most of them were farmers, 
with scarce enough knowledge of military affairs to 
distinguish a javelin from a flagstaff. Their weapons 
were of the rudest sort, — axes and bows and arrows. 
He therefore taught them first of all to forge javelin 
and arrow heads. He also introduced a pike with 
spiral point which could be driven into a man's armor 
so as to hold him fast. To meet the necessities of a 
soldier, who was prevented by his occupation from pay- 
ing for his goods with wheat or rye, Gustavus issued a 
copper coin which was at once received as money. These 
preparations seem all to have been made with the pros- 
pect of a long-continued war. While they were in pro- 
gress, a letter came from the burgomaster and Council 
of Stockholm, dated April 10, and addressed to the 
people of Dalarne, informing them that a number of 
vessels had just arrived from the Hanse Towns, laden 
by order of Christiern with clothing and food, which 
were to be distributed among the people. After ad- 

1 Svart, Gust. Vs kron., pp. 18-19 and 21-23 ; Christ. Ws arkiv, 
vol. iv. pp. 1340-1348 ; and Dipt. Dal., vol. i. pp. 237-238. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 95 

ministering this mealy morsel the letter of the burgo- 
master and Council went on to urge the Dalesmen to 
have nothing to do with the lies and treachery of Gus- 
tavus, but to consider their own and their children's 
welfare and bow humbly before their gracious king. 
This letter seems not to have produced the effect that 
was intended. Another that came about the same time 
was more effective. It was from some German soldiers 
who declared, with more or less exaggeration, that they 
were four thousand strong, that they had come to lend 
their succor to Gustavus, had already seized nine of 
Christiern's best men-of-war, and expected within a few 
days to get possession of Stockholm. The news of this 
marvellous achievement seems never to have been con- 
firmed, but at all events it fanned the enthusiasm of 
the infant army. 1 

Discontent had by this time spread throughout the 
land. On the 18th of April we find the Danish author- 
ities in Stockholm writing that tumult and confusion 
reign in all parts of the kingdom, and on the 23d of 
April they write of an insurrection that has broken out 
in Stegeholm. This rapid spread of the conflagration 

■ made it necessary for the Danish officers to increase 
their vigilance, and on the 26th of April they found an 
opportunity to win their spurs. It occurred in this wise. 
One of the recruiting-officers of Gustavus, in his eager- 
ness to advance the patriot cause, had pushed south into 

i the very heart of the enemy's country, and finally burst 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, p. 19 ; Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., p. 26 ; Christ. 
Wi arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1338-1339 and 1353-1356; and Dipt. Dal., 
vol. i. pp. 240-241. 



96 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTIOK [Chap. IV. 

into the town of Koping. Here, with all the rashness of 
a new-made officer, he let loose his soldiers on the town. 
The result was just what might have been expected. 
Ere nightfall the whole army, officers and men, were 
drunk. They retired to their camp, built blazing fires, 
and lay down to sleep without watch or guard. News 
of the situation was carried at once to Vesteras, where 
a force of three thousand men was got together and 
sent post-haste to Koping. It reached the patriot camp 
soon after midnight on April 26. The scene of de- 
bauchery was not yet past. The Danes fell upon them 
as they lay there in their drunken stupor, and slew 
them. 1 

Three days before this catastrophe Gustavus divided 
his entire forces into two parts, placing one under the 
command of an officer named Olsson and the other 
under one Eriksson. He then reviewed his troops, 
and prepared to march against the Castle of Vesteras. 
He had planned an attack on the east side of the castle, 
and the force sent down to Koping had been given orders 
to attack it simultaneously on the west. On learning 
of the disaster at Koping he seems to have made no 
change in his own manoeuvres. He waited till the 29th, 
and then advanced to the walls of Vesteras. His design 
was not to attack the town that day. But the Danish 
soldiers, chafing for the fight and already glorying in 
success, gave him no choice. They came boldly forth 
to meet him, led by a line of cavalry, who dashed upon 
the patriots, so runs the chronicle, " like raging lions." 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., pp. 25-26; and Christ. IL's arkiv, vol. iv. 
pp. 1349-1350 and 1352-1353. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 97 

The patriots received the charge like men. In their 
front rank were the halberdiers, armed with sharp wea- 
pons some fifteen or twenty feet in length. With these 
they kept the cavalry at bay, and worried the horses till 
at length confusion began to spread along the line. No 
sooner did the patriots see this than they discharged a 
volley of arrows, hitherto reserved. Under this double 
discomfiture, from their own horses and their opponents' 
arrows, the cavalry yielded, then finally turned and fled, 
leaving four hundred dead upon the field. Nor was this 
all. As the cavalry, frenzied with terror, dashed through 
the town-gate, they found the narrow streets blocked 
with the infantry, on whom their ungovernable steeds 
rushed with all the fury lent by fear. A large number 
were thus trampled to death, while the rest were pre- 
cipitated into flight. Eriksson followed them a short 
distance, and then retired ; but meantime Olsson entered 
the city from another quarter, and got possession of the 
enemy's cannon, ball, and powder. This he carried to 
Gustavus, who had taken up his position on a ridge to 
the north of the town. When now the garrison saw 
that they were worsted, they set fire to the town and 
then retired to the castle. At this many patriots rushed 
back into the burning town, burst open the shops and 
wine-vaults, and parted their booty among them. As 
soon as the Danes saw what was going on, their courage 
once more rose, and they fell upon the plundering patriots, 
already half drunk with wine. Gustavus therefore sent 
a detachment under Olsson into the town to drive the 
Danish soldiers back. They met in the public square, 
and a long and bloody battle followed ; but at last the 

7 



98 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

remnant of the Danish soldiers fled and took refuge in 
the monastery. Here they remained three weeks, and 
then escaped by boat to Stockholm. Gustavus, after the 
fight was over, entered the town and destroyed every 
wine-cask in the place. Though the town had fallen, 
the Castle of Vesteras still held out. Experience, how- 
ever, had made clear that it could not be reduced except 
by siege. He therefore pitched his camp on the west 
side of the castle, and despatched the main body of his 
forces to other parts. 1 

First of all, he ordered Eriksson and Olsson to attack 
Upsala. They therefore proceeded with a body of in- 
fantry to a forest some twelve miles from the city, and 
pitched their camp. As soon as the canons, with the 
burgomaster and Council, heard that the city was to be 
attacked, they sent a letter to the patriots urging them 
to postpone the onset till after the 18th of May, Saint 
Erik's day, that they might celebrate the festival. But 
their messenger brought back answer that as Saint 
Erik's day was a Swedish festival, the patriots would 
enter the town before that day and attend to the fes- 
tival themselves. However, the archbishop's steward, 
who held command of the town, felt no anxiety ; and 
out of bravado gave a sumptuous feast one evening on 
the esplanade. The festivities were protracted with 
song and dance till after midnight; and scarce had 
the sound of revelry died away, when the patriots, 
warned of the midnight orgies, burst upon the town, 
beat down the guard, and held possession of the streets 
before any of the carousers knew they were at hand. 
1 Svart, Gust, l.'s krdn., pp. 24 and 26-30. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 99 

So soon as they did come to their senses they poured a 
volley from their arquebuses into the spot where they 
thought the enemy were collected. But they were 
aiming in the dark, and not a finger of the Swedes 
was hurt. The archbishop's steward then planned a 
strategic movement on the rear, and endeavored to 
move his troops through a long wooden passageway 
running from the palace to the cathedral ; but the 
Swedes, perceiving it, set fire to the passageway, and 
at the same time shot blazing arrows up into the pal- 
ace roof. The Danes retaliated by setting fire to the 
buildings all about the palace ; but the patriots in each 
case extinguished the fire before it got fully under 
way. The palace, however, was soon a mass of flames; 

« and the archbishop's forces, seeing all was lost, mounted 
their steeds, burst open the palace-gate, and galloped in 
all haste over the fields to the south. The Swedes pur- 
sued, but, finding the enemy's steeds too fleet for them, 
showered a volley of arrows after the flying horsemen, 
and returned. 1 

Early in June Gustavus came from Vesteras, and 
opened negotiations with the canons of Upsala, with a 
view to win them over to his side. As they refused, 
however, to take action without consulting the arch- 

- bishop, he begged them to consult him at once, and he 
himself wrote a pacific letter urging the archbishop to 
champion his country's cause. Trolle, then in Stock- 
holm, scorned the message and seized the messenger 

» who brought it. Then he placed himself at the head 
of a troop of three thousand foot and five hundred 
1 Svart, Gust. Us kron., pp. 31-34. 



100 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

horse, in glittering armor, and marched to Upsala, de- 
claring that his answer to the message he would con- 
vey in person. Gustavus, expecting daily the return of 
his messenger, was taken wholly unawares. The great 
body of his soldiers had gone back to their farms, and 
he had but six hundred of them left. With these it 
would be madness to withstand the archbishop's force. 
He therefore evacuated the city, and hurried over the 
meadows to the west. As soon as he was out of danger, 
he despatched officers to call back the farmers to his 
ranks, and meantime drew up an ambuscade on the 
road between Stockholm and Upsala, thinking to spring 
upon the archbishop as he returned. The plot was dis- 
covered, and when the troops returned they took another 
path. Gustavus, however, did not give up the chase. 
With his ranks once more replenished, he pursued the 
enemy, and a battle followed so hot that when the arch- 
bishop arrived at Stockholm; he entered the town with 
only an eighth part of the glittering troop with which 
he had started out. 1 

The patriot army now proceeded to the capital, and 
pitched their camp on the hill north of the town. There 
they found four gallows from which were hanging the 
bodies of four Swedes, murdered to glut the rapacity 
of their Danish masters. One day, while encamped on 
this spot, the Danes came out against them, and divid- 
ing their forces into two bodies stormed the Swedish 
redoubt simultaneously on both sides. The charge was 
fierce, and lasted half a day, when the Swedes were 

1 Svart, Gust. Vs kr'6n. t pp. 35-37 ; and Sver. trakt, vol. iv. pp. 
7-15. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 101 

driven from their stronghold with heavy loss, and forced 
to take up a new position about twelve miles farther 
north. There they remained three weeks, battling daily 
with the enemy with varying success. At last the com- 
mandant of Stockholm had recourse to strategy. Ad- 
vancing with a powerful army till near the vicinity of 
the Swedish camp, he halted and placed his force in 
ambuscade. He then pushed forward with some forty 
horse and a few weak infantry to the enemy's earth- 
works, as if to storm them. After a slight skirmish, 
in which some eight or ten of the horse were captured, 
the Danish leader shouted that all was lost, and took 
to flight. The patriots, all unsuspecting, dashed after 
them, and followed blindly into the very midst of the Da- 
nish army, into the jaws of death. Thus ended the first 
attempt of Gustavus Yasa to capture Stockholm. 1 

Better fared it with him in other parts. One of the 
most valiant officers of Gustavus was Arvid Vestgote. 
This man was despatched, about the middle of May, to 
the provinces south of Stockholm, to enlist the peas- 
antry in the Swedish cause. Collecting his forces along 
the way, he advanced from one town to another, plun- 
dering the estates of all who would not join him, and 
before the end of June reached Stegeborg, a strongly 
fortified castle on the Baltic coast. This he proceeded 
to besiege. In July, Norby, the most famous naval 
officer of Christiern, came to the rescue of the belea- 
guered castle with sixteen men-of-war. Landing his 
forces on the shore, he drew them up in battle-array, 
three hundred strong. The Swedes, however, rushed 
1 Svart, Gust. Vs. krbn., pp. 37-39. 



102 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

furiously upon them, and drove them to the sea. A few 
days later, after provisioning the castle, Norby sailed 
away to Denmark. 1 

All through this spring and summer Gustavus was 
busy passing from camp to camp, giving orders as to 
the disposition of his forces, and receiving the allegiance 
of the people. His practice, as far as possible, seems to 
have been to use persuasion, and only when that failed 
did he resort to force. This method proved successful 
in a marvellous degree. One after another the provinces 
recognized him as their leader ; and on the 14th of July 
we find him issuing a proclamation as commander of 
five provinces, named in the order of their declaration 
of allegiance. His greatest difficulty at this time was 
in finding the means with which to pay his men. Pos- 
sessing no authority to levy taxes, he was often forced 
to close the mouths of his clamoring soldiers by allowing 
them to plunder. The great body of his army was of 
course made up of Swedes. These were fighting for the 
welfare of their wives and children, and w T ere content if 
he provided them only with the necessities of life. The 
mercenaries whom he employed were few. One of them, 
a tough old warrior named Rensel, has left us a chron- 
icle of his life. He tells us he came over from Livonia 
in the winter of 1521, and was among the four thousand 
German veterans that counted on entering Stockholm 
in the spring. Gustavus sent him back to the Continent 
for more men and ammunition ; and when he returned 
in July of that year, he brought back sixty mercenaries 
with him. In August Gustavus made an inspection of 
1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kr'dn., pp. 30 and 42-43. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 103 

the camp at Stegeborg. While there, he learned that 
the Bishop of Linkoping was more than half minded to 
join the patriot cause. This bishop, Hans Brask, was a 
man of rare shrewdness, excellent common-sense, and 
as time-serving as any man in Europe. He had strong 
convictions, but he always looked to see how the wind 
was blowing before he spoke them out. He had, among 
others, signed the decree for the demolition of Staket, 
but had taken the precaution to place under his seal a 
slip of paper declaring 
that he affixed his signa- 
ture perforce, and when 
his fellows were brought 
out to be beheaded, he 
removed the seal ; by 
this little bit of Roman- 
ism he saved his head 
and the emoluments of 
his priestly office. To 
this man Gustavus wrote 
in August, asking for a conference. The aspect of the 
heavens was not such as to justify the wily bishop in 
refusing. The continued brutality of Didrik Slagheck 
had raised such a storm of indignation in the country, 
that his own followers had found it necessary, on June 
16, to hurry him out of Sweden, and announce that they 
had thrown him into jail. Nearly all of Sweden, except 
the fortified castles, was in the patriots' hands. The 
forces of Gustavus were growing stronger day by day, 
and in the continued absence of Christiern the fortresses 
that still held out were likely soon to yield for want of 




104 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

food and ammunition. In this state of affairs Hans 
Brask made up his mind without delay. He granted 
the interview with Gustavus, and was very easily per- 
suaded to join the Swedish cause. It now seemed best 
that the vague authority conferred upon Gustavus by 
the different provinces should be denned, so that he 
might as representative of the Swedish nation treat 
with foreign powers. He therefore announced that a 
general diet would be held at Yadstena on August 24, 
and all the chief men of different classes in the kingdom 
were summoned to attend. By whom the delegates 
were selected we are not told. Certainly they were not 
selected by Gustavus. At all events, they came together 
in vast numbers, and, if we are to believe the chronicle, 
urged Gustavus to accept the crown. This, however, he 
refused, but accepted the title of Commander of the 
Swedish Army, at the same time adding that after they 
had wholly freed themselves from Christiern, a general 
diet might then be held to discuss the propriety of 
choosing some man of their own nation king. 1 

While the patriots were occupied with their diet, the 
Danes in Stockholm sent a force by water to the relief 
of Vesteras. The patriots, still in possession of the 
town, sought by aid of their falconets to prevent a 
landing, but without avail. The relief-party made its 
way into the castle, replenished it with men and am- 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 22-23 ; Diar. Vazsten., p. 217 ; Svart, Gust. 
I.'s kr'dn., pp. 39-41 and 43-46; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1356- 
1369 and 1374-1375 ; Dipt. Dal, vol. i. pp. 240-241, and Suppl. p. 30; 
Nya Keillor till Finl. Medeltidshist., pp. 708-709 ; and Sver. traht., vol. 
iv. pp. 5-6 and 27-35. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 105 

munition, and withdrew. Gustavus, knowing that the 
Danes on their return to Stockholm must pass through 
a narrow inlet some thirty yards in width, sent thither 
a force to throw up earthworks on both sides of the 
passage and await the coming of the enemy. The battle 
which ensued was fierce, and lasted two whole days ; 
but finally, having inflicted as well as suffered heavy 
loss, the Danish fleet escaped. Shortly after, in Septem- 
ber, Gustavus sent a force to Finland. This force re- 
ceived large reinforcements from the people in that 
province, and on the 24th of November, being furnished 
ammunition by the bishop of Abo, laid siege to Abo 
Castle. On December 18 the Castle .of Stegeborg still 
besieged by Arvid Yestgote, fell ; and the commandant, 
Berent von Mehlen, after two months in prison swore 
fealty to Gustavus. Six days after the castle yielded, 
Norby, not having heard of the disaster, came sailing 
boldly into the harbor with food and men. The patriots 
soon informed him of his error by firing upon him from 
the castle walls, and in the conflict which took place 
it is reported that six hundred of his men were lost. 
Most of Vestgote's forces, after the fall of Stegeborg, 
were transferred to the vicinity of Stockholm, to which 
Gustavus early in the autumn had again laid siege. 
The summer's experience had made manifest that it 
would be useless to assault the capital. Gustavus there- 
fore held his forces several miles away from the city, 
and with a view to cut off supplies divided them into 
three camps, — one on the north, another on the south, 
and the third on an island to the west. On Christmas 
eve the garrison, finding that no assault was likely to be 



106 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

made, embarked some fifteen hundred men on yawls 
and coasting-vessels, and proceeded against the island- 
camp. The Swedish leader watched the preparations 
from a hill ; and when he saw that the enemy were 
coming against himself, divided his men into squads of 
fourteen and sixteen, and placed these squads at inter- 
vals through the woods with orders to sound their horns 
as soon as the neighboring squad had sounded theirs. 
He then waited till the enemy were all on shore, when 
he gave the signal, and in a moment it was re-echoed all 
along the line. The effect was marvellous. The enemy, 
horrified by the apparent number of the Swedes, turned 
and fled. The Swedes, who had but about four hundred 
and fifty men in all, pursued them to their boats and 
cut down two hundred of them on the shore. After this 
the garrison from time to time made raids upon the 
northern and southern camps, and generally got the 
better of the Swedes, though nothing of marked impor- 
tance was accomplished by either side. On the 30th of 
January the Castle of Yesteras, hard pressed for food 
and cut off from supplies, surrendered. Later in the 
winter, seemingly in March, Norby came from Denmark 
with a large force to Stockholm, and replenished the gar- 
rison with fresh men. About the same time the Swedish 
camp on the north was moved nearer ; and the Danes, 
thus reinforced by Norby, came out against them 
April 17, and routed them with heavy loss. The day 
following, a like sally was made on the southern camp 
with like result. Having thus raised the siege of Stock- 
holm, Norby set sail for Finland, and routed the Swedish 
forces still besieging Abo. The bishop of Abo, finding 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 107 

his own land too hot for him, embarked for Sweden ; but 
his vessel foundered, and all on board were drowned. 
In April Gustavus recruited a strong force in Dalarne 
and the other northern provinces, and pitched his camps 
once more to the north and south of Stockholm. 1 

The war had now been raging over a year, and Gus- 
tavus had experienced the utmost difficulty in obtain- 
ing money with which to pay his men. In the absence 
of any authority to levy taxes, he had resorted to the 
practice of coining money, and had established mints 
in several places through 
the realm. His coins, which 
were known as "klippings," 
consisted of copper with a 
very slight admixture of sil- 
ver, and twenty-four of them 

were issued for a mark. As a matter of fact their actual 
value fell far below what they purported to be worth. For 
such a practice it is difficult to find excuse, except that 
it was a practice universal at the time. Wfry a monarch 
should be justified any more than an individual in giv- 
ing a penny where he owed a pound, is difficult to com- 
prehend. Yet this had been for centuries the custom, 
and each successive monarch had pared a little from 
the standard, so that in the eight hundred years preced- 
ing Gustavus Yasa the various monetary units all over 
Europe had declined to little more than an eighteenth 
part of their original value. In Denmark the debase- 

1 Diar. Vazsten., p. 217; Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., pp, 43 and 46-55; 
Christ. II.' t arkiv, vol. i. pp. 197-211 and 214-220; and Nya Keillor 
till Finl. Medeltidshist., pp. 712-714. 




108 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

ment of the currency had been more rapid than in al- 
most any other land, and the " klippings " of Christiern 
II. fell farther below their nominal value than any coin 
in Europe — till the " klippings " were issued by Gusta- 
vus, which were a trifle worse than those of Christiern. 
Of course, as the standard of currency is lowered, its 
buying-power gradually declines, so that ultimately, un- 
der whatever name a particular coin may go, it will 
buy no more than could be had for the actual bullion 
which it contains. A mark in the sixteenth century 
would have bought, provided the relative supply of 
bullion and merchandise remained the same, only an 
eighteenth part of what it bought originally. The aim 
of monarchs was, therefore, to get rid of their debased 
coins at more than the real value, and after they had 
depreciated, to get them back at the depreciated value, 
melt them down, and lower the standard further. Pre- 
cisely how much Gustavus made by tampering with the 
currency is impossible to say, for there is no means of 
determining how many of his " klippings " he threw 
upon the market. It is clear, however, that the scheme 
was from a financial point of view successful, and that 
a vast number of the " klippings'' were absorbed before 
the public detected their inferiority. 1 

Unquestionably the marvellous progress made by Gus- 
tavus in this first year of the revolution was owing in 
great measure to the critical state of things in Denmark. 

1 Svart, Gust. I s kron., pp. 23 and 53 ; and Christ. II.' s arkiv, 
vol. i. p. 214. See on this subject a most valuable discussion by Hans 
Eorssell in his Anteckningar om mynt, vigt, matt, och varuprls i Sverige, 
pp. 19-43, printed at the end of his Sver. inre hist., vol. ii. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 109 

Christiern had by this time made enemies all over Eu- 
rope. Lubeck, always a latent enemy, was particularly 
imbittered by Christiern' s favoritism of the market 
towns of the Netherlands and his avowed intention of 
making Copenhagen the staple market for his kingdom ; 
France hated him because he was the brother-in-law of 
her enemy, Charles V. ; Fredrik, Duke of Schleswig- 
Holstein, opposed him because he had laid claim to those 
dominions ; and his own clergy opposed him because of 
his rumored leaning towards Lutheranism and his efforts 
to check their power. All these things prevented his 
return to Sweden, and conspired against his credit so 
that he was unable to raise an army of any strength. 
Didrik Slagheck, too, whom he had placed at the head 
of affairs in Sweden, had fallen into disgrace, and, to 
appease the public clamor, had been beheaded. Even 
Gustavus Trolle, after several attempts to exert his papal 
authority in Sweden, had found the land too hot for 
him, and for the present had withdrawn to Denmark. 1 

Norby was at this time the most valuable officer that 
Christiern had. He infested the shores of the Baltic 
with his fleet, making frequent incursions on the land 
to plunder; and at length became so obnoxious that 
Gustavus sent to Lubeck for a fleet. On the 7th of June 
it came, ten ships of war, laden with all sorts of mer- 
chandise, and fully equipped with powder, shot, and men. 

1 Eliesen, Chron. Skib., p. 570 ; Rensel, Berattelse, p. 24 ; Svaning, 
Christ. II, pp. 389-392 and 432-437; Christ. ILs arkiv, vol. i. pp. 
159-196 and vol. iv. pp. 1369-1379 ; Dipt. Dal., vol. i. pp. 242-244 ; 
Nya Keillor tillFinl. Medeltidshist., pp. 718-726 ; and Skrift. och handle 
vol. iv. pp. 351-357. 



110 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

For this aid Gustavus is said to have paid an enormous 
figure, giving his promissory note for the amount. Pick- 
ing out a battalion of five hundred men, he sent them 
down to Kalmar, to which castle Vestgote had just laid 
siege. The rest of the reinforcements he despatched to 
Stockholm, quartering them in his different camps, and 
then discharged all of the Swedish peasants except the 
young unmarried men. Shortly after this change the com- 
mandant of Abo Castle crossed the Baltic with a powerful 
fleet, and sought to break the siege of Stockholm. But 
the Swedish fleet met him outside the harbor, captured or 
burnt his vessels, and took him prisoner. In October, 
seeing that the garrison was losing strength, Gustavus 
advanced his camps nearer to the town. His southern 
camp he moved to Sodermalm, from which he built a pon- 
toon bridge to connect it with the west camp now on 
an island some three or four hundred yards from Stock- 
holm. Another bridge he threw across the channel 
east of the city, and built upon it a turret which he 
armed with heavy guns. The city was thus hemmed in 
on every side, and a contemporary writes, " We cannot 
find in any of the old chronicles that Stockholm ever 
was so hard besieged before." Unless relief came it 
was merely a question of time when the garrison would 
have to yield. Once, in November, Norby came sailing 
into the harbor with five ships-of-war ; but the Swedish 
fleet, consisting of fifteen vessels, drove him off, and, 
were it not for the half-heartedness of the German 
mercenaries, would very likely have destroyed his fleet. 1 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 24-30 ; Svart, Gust. Us kron., pp. 51, 55-56 
and 61-64 ; and Sver. traht., vol. iv. pp. 15-27. 



1521-23.] WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. Ill 

The high spirit of the garrison had fallen. Wasted 
in numbers, with hunger and dissension spreading fast 
among them, and with scarce enough ammunition to re- 
sist an assault upon their walls, they waited impatiently 
for the army of Christiern, and marvelled that it did not 
come. All servants, old men, monks, burghers, and 
prostitutes they sent away, that there might be fewer 
mouths to feed. Each day, too, their numbers were 
diminished through the desertion of able-bodied men 
who escaped through the gates or over the walls and 
made their way by one means or another to the Swedish 
camp. There being no longer possibility of driving off 
the enemy by force, they felt that their only hope was 
fraud. They therefore one day sent a Swedish magnate 
to the enemy, with instructions to pretend that he had 
fled, and after finding out how matters stood, set fire to 
the camp and either return to the garrison, or, that 
being impossible, make his way to Denmark and induce 
the monarch to send immediate relief. This piece of 
stratagem, however, proved abortive ; for two refugees 
from the garrison came forward and denounced the 
magnate as a spy. 1 

"When winter came, Gustavus sent a large part of his 
army, chiefly the cavalry, to take up winter-quarters in 
Upsala. Others were sent to other towns. Some, too, 
were sent, in February, 1523, to the Norwegian frontier 
to gain the allegiance of the people. Towards the close 
\ of winter Gustavus ordered his German troops to the 
1 south of Sweden on a similar errand, but within six 
weeks they came back and reported that the spring 
1 Svart, Gust. Vs kron. y pp. 65-66. 



112 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

freshets had carried away the bridges and they could 
not proceed. Norby meantime lay with a strong force 
in the town and castle of Kalmar, and was making pre- 
parations to attack Vestgote, who was still carrying on 
the siege, as soon as spring should open. But just as he 
was getting ready, he received word from the Danish 
Cabinet that Christiern had been deposed in Denmark, 
and Fredrik, duke of Schleswig-Holstein, summoned to 
the throne. At this news he set sail with all his force 
for Denmark, leaving only sixty men to hold the castle 
and town of Kalmar. Their orders were to form two 
garrisons of thirty each, one to guard the castle and the 
other to guard the town; and if through assault or 
failure of provisions they could not maintain the strong- 
hold, they were to slaughter all the Swedes in Kalmar, 
set fire to the town, and sail to Gotland. As soon as 
the burghers of Kalmar learned of these instructions, 
they sent a messenger to the Swedish camp to tell the 
Swedes to enter the town by the north gate on the 27th 
of May, when the burghers would take care that the 
gate should be opened for them. On the day appointed 
Vestgote advanced with all his cavalry, and drew them 
up in battle-array along the west and south side of the 
town as if to storm the southern gate. The garrison, 
all unsuspecting, flocked to that point in order to re- 
ceive the charge. But meantime the Swedish infantry 
had massed themselves outside the northern gate, which 
at a concerted signal was thrown open on its hinges, 
and the infantry pressed in. It was but the work of a 
moment to put the little garrison to the sword. For a 
few weeks more the castle refused to yield, and it was 



1521-23.] ELECTION OF GUSTAVUS TO THE THRONE. 113 

not till the 7th of July that, reduced to the last extrem- 
ity, it fell. 1 

Kalmar had not yet fallen when it became clear that 
the war of independence was drawing to its close, and it 
was felt on every hand that the country had been too 
long without a king. The powers which Gustavus pos- 
sessed as regent were too vague to meet the necessities 
of a time of peace. While the army was in the field, 
he had authority, as commander of the forces, to levy 
the taxes necessary to sustain his men; but, so soon 
as the war was over, there would be no means for raising 
the money needed to pay the nation's debts. He there- 
fore, shortly before the fall of Kalmar, summoned a 
general diet to be held at Strengnas on the 27th of May. 
Whether or not all the magnates of Sweden were sum- 
moned to the diet is not known, but at any rate the 
peasantry were represented. The wily Brask, who had 
once saved his head by a bit of strategy, dared not 
put it in jeopardy again, and fearing that matters of 
weight might be brought before the diet, was suddenly 
taken ill and rendered unable to attend. The Cabinet, 
hitherto the sum and substance of a general diet, was 
practically dead, having been carried off in the fearful 
slaughter of 1520. One of the first things to be done, 
therefore, after the opening of the diet, was to fill these 
vacant seats. This was accomplished on the 2d of June, 
but whether the members were chosen by Gustavus or 
by vote of the general diet we are not told. Noteworthy 

it is, that the persons selected, nine in number, were all 

» 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 30-33 ; Svart, Gust. Vs kron., pp. 67-09 ; 
I and Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. p. 106. 



114 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

of them laymen and warriors in the service of Gustavus. 
Four days later, on the 6th of June, the question of 
electing a king of Sweden was brought before the house. 
The proposal was received with shouts of acclamation, 
and with one accord the delegates raised their voices in 
favor of Gustavus. But the regent, so the reporter 
tells us, rose to his feet, and, mid the deafening shouts 
of those about him, declared that he had no wish for 
further honor, that he was weary of leadership, that he 
had found more gall than honey in the post, and that 
there were others more worthy than himself on whom to 
lay the crown. So importunate, however, were the dele- 
gates, that at last he yielded, accepted their allegiance, 
and took the royal oath. This done, the diet voted to 
levy a tax to defray the expenses of the war. Among 
the very first Acts to which the newly chosen monarch 
attached his seal was one which granted the cities of 
Lubeck and Dantzic, with their allies, the perpetual mo- 
nopoly of all foreign trade with Sweden. At the same 
time it was provided that Stockholm, Kalmar, Soder- 
koping, and Abo should be the only ports of entry for 
foreign merchants in the realm. This Act was the re- 
sult of an application made by Lubeck the year before, 
and was carried by the importunities of Lubeck's am- 
bassadors to the diet. It was a sop to stay the flood of 
their demands for immediate payment of the debt in- 
curred to Lubeck by the war. As it granted these 
Hanse Towns entry for all goods free of duty, it must 
be deemed a marked concession. One favorable clause, 
however, was incorporated in the Act, providing that no 
alien should thereafter be a burgher either of Stockholm 



1521-23.] ELECTION OF GUSTAVUS TO THE THRONE. 115 

or of Kalmar. Another measure of weight which the 
diet passed provided that a tax payable in silver should 
be levied to defray the expenses of the war, though ap- 
parently nothing was fixed by the diet as to the amount 
to be raised or as to the mode of levy. With this 
meagre record our information regarding this celebrated 
diet ends ; but the new Cabinet, before it parted, drew up 
a long-winded account of the cruelties of Christiern, 
which it sent abroad among the people for a lasting 
memorial of their tyrant king. 1 

No sooner had the diet closed its doors than the 
monarch sped with all the haste he could command 
to Stockholm. . That city had been for several days in 
the last stages of despair. The garrison was miserably 
wasted in numbers, and its food was gone. Longer to 
look for aid from Denmark was to hope against all 
hope. Indeed, the wretched soldiers now thought only 
of the terms on which they should capitulate. During 
a month or more they had parleyed with their besiegers, 
but the terms which they had offered had thus far been 
refused. As soon as Gustavus reached the spot, ne- 
gotiations were once more opened. The new monarch, 
fresh from the honors of Strengnas, seems to have 
shown them mercy. Apparently he granted their re- 
quests ; for on the 20th of June the castle yielded, and 
the garrison, supplied with food and ships, set sail for 
Denmark. Three days later, June 23, the monarch 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s krbn., pp. 70-73 ; Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, 
vol i. pp. 1-17 ; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1457-1458 and 1677- 
1682; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 63-86; Svenska 
riksdagsalct., vol. i. pp. 8-9 ; and Sver. trakt., vol. iv. pp. 55-60. 




116 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IV. 

entered the capital in triumph, amid the hosannas of 
his people. With this glorious issue the Swedish war 
of independence closed. 1 

In contemplating this struggle as a whole, the reader 
will doubtless be impressed by the extraordinary ease 
with which the victory was won. In less than two years 
and a half after the first blow was struck, the Danish 

tyrants had been 
driven from every 
stronghold, and 
the patriots had 
placed their leader 
on the throne. 
Indeed, eighteen 
months had scarcely passed when the issue was prac- 
tically decided. The remaining year consisted mainly 
in the reduction of Sweden's strongholds, and was 
marked by little bloodshed. It furnished small oppor- 
tunity either for brilliant strategy or for acts of start- 
ling courage. The enforced absence of the Danish 
monarch prevented his army from entering the field, 
and the patriots had neither arms nor ammunition 
with which to storm the forts. Both parties, therefore, 
waited ; and the last year was little more than a test 
to determine the endurance of the contending armies. 
While, however, this period wants many of the features 
that make war grand, it is yet instructive if not inter- 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, p. 34 ; Svart, Gust. I.'s krbn., pp. 69-72 ; 
Christ. Ws arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1452-1454, 1463 and 1474-1482 ; Km. 
Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 90-95 ; and Sver. trakt., vol. iv. 
pp. 61-65. 



1521-23.] ELECTION OF GUSTAVUS TO THE THRONE. 117 

esting in its results. The struggle at the beginning was 
against overwhelming odds. The patriots had neither 
ammunition nor resources, and their leader was without 
prestige. On the other hand the Danes were well sup- 
plied with men and arms, and were led by one of the 
powerful monarchs of Europe backed by all the au- 
thority and influence of Rome. In spite of all this, 
the patriots grew in numbers day by day, while the 
Danish forces steadily declined. The patriots succeeded 
in obtaining rich supplies of men and arms from abroad, 
while Christiern was scarce able to keep his army from 
starvation. One by one the strongholds which he had 
seized surrendered, till finally his entire army was forced 
to yield, and Sweden, from her place as a weak and 
down-trodden Danish province, attained an enviable 
position among the great monarchies of Europe. The 
key to this marvellous transformation in the two parties 
can be found only in the characters of their respective 
leaders. The people were horrified by the brutal cru- 
elties of Christiern, while allured by the evident sincerity 
and enthusiasm of Gustavus. In all history there is 
no more striking example of the far-reaching influence 
which individual characters sometimes exert upon a 
nation's growth. 



Chapter V. 

BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 1523-1524. 

Nature of the Reformation in Europe. — Cause of the Reformation in 
Sweden. — The Debt to Lubeck. — Riches of the Church. — Relations 
of Gustavus to the Pope. — Johannes Magni. — New Taxation — Dis- 
sension among the People. — Opposition of Gustavus to the Pope. — 
Trial of Peder Surmanvader. — Expedition against Gotland. — Repudi- 
ation of the " Klippings." — Berent von Mehlen. — Negotiations be- 
tween Fredrik and Norby. — Congress of Malmo. — Efforts to appease 
the People. — Lutheranism. — Olaus Petri. — Laurentius Andrese. — 
Brask's Efforts to repress Heresy. — Religious Tendencies of Gustavus. 
— Character of Brask. 

WE have now reached that point in our narrative 
where the history of modern Sweden takes its 
start. With the close of the war of independence those 
features which mark the face of mediaeval Sweden dis- 
appear, and a wholly new countenance gradually settles 
upon the land. Nor is this transformation peculiar in 
any way to Sweden. Early in the sixteenth century all 
Europe was passing from mediaeval into modern history. 
In the Middle Ages there was but one criterion for 
every question that arose, and that criterion was the 
past. Whatever had been, should continue. All Church 
dogmas were settled by an appeal to the ancient Fathers ; 
all political aspirations were fought out on the basis of 
descent. Tradition was the god of mediaeval Europe. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE KEFORMATION. 119 

At last, however, questions arose for which tradition 
had no answer. On the Renaissance in Italy, on the 
invention of printing and of gunpowder, on the discov- 
ery of America, the ancient Fathers had not spoken. 
On these things, therefore, which raised the greatest 
questions of the age, men had nothing for it but to do 
their thinking for themselves. The practice thus evoked 
soon spread to other questions, and gradually men grew 
bold enough to venture opinions on certain stereotyped 
matters of religion. As all the world knows, the Refor- 
mation followed, and from an age of blind acceptance 
Europe passed to an age of eager controversy. In- 
stead of searching to find out what had been, men 
argued to determine what it was desirable should be. 
If tradition was the characteristic of mediaeval, policy 
is the characteristic of modern, history. Some old 
dogmas, like the divine right of kings, still linger ; but 
since the fifteenth century kings have had little chance 
whose claims conflict with the balance of European 
power. 

The beginnings of modern history are inextricably 
bound up with the beginnings of the Reformation. It is 
a common belief that the Reformation in Europe worked 
a radical change in the doctrines of religious men, rais- 
ing up two parties with diametrically opposing creeds. 
Such a conception, however, is misleading. The Refor- 
mation was not so much a religious as a political revolt. 
It was the natural outcome of a growth in the power of 
northern Germany at a moment when Rome was losing 
her political prestige. The alliance between the German 
Empire and the popes of Rome had its origin in a need 



120 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

of mutual assistance. Western Europe consisted, at the 
accession of Charlemagne, of many independent princi- 
palities at war among themselves, and what they needed 
was a powerful protector to adjust their various dis- 
putes. Later this need of a protector became still more 
urgent, when Germany and France fell under different 
rulers, and the German Empire began to be threatened 
by the monarchy across the Rhine. Rome, by reason 
of her spiritual supremacy, was the arbiter to whom the 
northern nations naturally turned, and she found ready 
recompense for her services in the treasures poured gen- 
erously into her lap. Such was the basis of the Holy 
Roman Empire. But by the beginning of the sixteenth 
century all this had changed. Germany was no longer 
weak. Her little principalities had become cemented 
together under an emperor well able to repel every 
invasion of the French. Society had made vast pro- 
gress, not only in its comforts, but in its demands. 
Rome, on the other hand, had lost her prestige. In Italy, 
where the brutality and licentiousness of the popes were 
open to every eye, people had long since lost all rever- 
ence for the Church. This feeling did not spread readily 
across the Alps ; but it came at last, and at a moment 
when Germany no longer needed aid. A nation guarded 
by the strong arm of Maximilian could ill brook new 
levies to feed the extravagance of its decrepit ally, and 
the infamous practices of Tetzel served as a timely pre- 
text to shake off the burdensome alliance of the papal 
see. The abuses of popery were little more than a war- 
cry, while the real struggle of the Reformation was 
against the political supremacy of Rome. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 121 

In Sweden, more than in almost any other land, the 
Reformation was a political revolt. Indeed, it may well 
be called a political necessity. At the moment when 
Gustavus Vasa was elected king, Sweden was on the 
verge of bankruptcy. The war just passed had drained 
the resources of the country, and left her heavily in- 
volved in debt. The principal creditor was Lubeck. 
Precisely how much had been borrowed from that town 
it is impossible to determine, though it is certain the 
total amount fell not far short of 300,000 Swedish 
, marks. 1 One payment of about 17,000 Swedish marks 
« Gustavus had made in 1522. 2 This of course was a 
[ mere drop in the bucket, and other devices were neces- 
; sary to relieve the general distress. One favorite de- 
I, vice, to which allusion has been already made, con- 



1 July 13, 1523, a payment of about 17,000 marks having been al- 
rsady made, Gustavus wrote to Brask that Lubeck still demanded 
200,000 guilders, which was equivalent to about 300,000 Swedish 
marks. This probably was an exaggeration for the purpose of getting 

p a generous contribution from Brask. Another source states it as more 
than 120,000 Swedish marks. Svart, Gust. I.'s krdn., p. 72. This 

i| clearly was too low an estimate ; for we know that Gustavus paid at least 
42,945 Lubeck marks (or 83,000 Swedish marks) in the course of 1523, 
and that in the following spring the amount claimed by Lubeck was 
about 240,000 Swedish marks. See Kon. Gust, den Tdrstes rerjistrat., 
vol. i. pp. 109-110, and the documents in the Archives at Lubeck cited 
in Handelmann's Die letzten Zeiten der hanseatischen Uebermacht im 
Norden, pp. 165-170. The matter is ably discussed by Forssell in his 
Soer. inre hist., vol. i. pp. 134-13S. Much confusion is caused by the 
fact that the debtor and creditor reckoned the sum each according to 
his own monetary standard, and there can be no question, too, that be- 
tween the parties there was some dispute as to the exact sum due. 

2 See a document in the Archives at Lubeck cited in Handelmann's 
Die letzten Zeiten dcr hanseatischen Uebermacht im Norden, p. 1G5. 



122 



THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. 



[Chap. V. 



sisted in a debasement of the currency. That device, 
however, had soon lost its savor, and the coin which in 
1522 Gustavus had issued for an ore and a half, he was 
forced in 1523 to place upon the market as an ore. 1 So 
that when the new monarch ascended the throne it was 
manifest that the treasury must be replenished in other 
modes. The natural direction was that in which the 



1 Svart, Gust. L's krbn., pp. 64-65. Svart, whose chronicle was 
written with a view to flatter Gustavus, informs us of the reduction in 

the value at which the coin was 
issued, and appears to attribute 
this reduction to the generosity 
of his master. It was "a good 
fat coin," he adds, which mer- 
chants carried out of the country 
as an excellent piece of merchan- 
dise. The zeal with 
which the chronicler 
defends the coin is 
enough to raise sus- 
picion as to its true 
value. If it was 
really worth an ore 
and a half, it is in- 
credible that Gusta 
vus in the strait 
which he then was should have ul- 
timately given it for an ore. Fors- 
sell, in his Anteckn. om rnynt, vigt, 
matt och varupris i Sverige, pp. 44- 
51, suggests that probably the coin 
was first issued for an ore and a 
half, and then with the same size and weight but containing more alloy, 
was issued for an ore. I think the true explanation is more simple. 
Gustavus had been found out. The " klippings " which he had issued 
a year before were such a palpable fraud that the Danish commandant 
of Stockholm had actually forbidden their use, lest the Danish " klip- 





: 

,1- 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 



123 



greatest wealth of Sweden lay, — in other words, the 
Church. We have already seen how completely, in the 
centuries preceding the Reformation, the Church in 
Sweden had freed herself from all authority of the peo- 
ple, and had gradually accumulated for herself a vast 
amount of wealth. Some conception of this treasure 
may be had by comparing the edifices belonging to the 
Church with those owned by individuals. Such a com- 
parison reveals at once an enormous disparity in favor 
of the Church. At a time when well-to-do citizens 
dwelt in what would at this day be known as hovels, 



pings " (which were about as bad as anything could be) might through 
association with the others fall into ill repute. Christ. IL's arkiv, vol. i. 
pp. 214 and 218. 
So that when he 
issued a new coin 
and called it an 
ore and a half, 
people were sus- 
picious and re- 
fused to take it 
till he reduced it 
to something like 
its value. This view is strength- 
ened by the fact that of the few 
extant coins of Gustavus, dated 
1522, not one contains enough 
silver to have been worth an 
ore and a half, and most of them 
fall considerably below the value 
of an ore. It is noticeable also that those stamped 1523, which were 
presumably issued for an ore, contain a trifle more in value than those 
stamped 1522, and called an ore and a half. As none of them have any 
value stamped upon their face, it was a simple matter to start the figure 
high, and then reduce it to what the coin would bring. 




124 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

they worshipped in churches that must have seemed 
to them palatial. The six cathedrals that existed in 
the time of Gustavus still remain, and even at this day- 
compare favorably with the finest structures in the 
land. In addition to a magnificent palace, the arch- 
bishop and the five Swedish bishops each possessed a 
fortified castle in his diocese. In each diocese, too, 
there were an enormous number of estates belonging 
to the bishopric ; those in the diocese of Linkoping, for 
example, numbering over six hundred. The rents and 
profits from these estates went directly to the bishop- 
ric, and were wholly exempt from taxation, as were 
also the untold treasures of gold and silver belonging 
to the various churches. Beside all this tithes of every 
species of farm produce raised in any part of Sweden 
were due the Church, also tithes of all other personal 
property acquired. Further, a small annual tax was 
due the Church for every building in the land from a 
palace to a pig-sty ; also a fee for every wedding, death, or 
childbirth. No one could inherit property, or even take 
the sacrament, without a contribution to the Church. 
And every peasant was bound one day each year to labor 
for his pastor without reward. 1 How all this money was 
disbursed, seems difficult to comprehend. Some clew, 
however, may be gained when we consider what a vast 
horde of clergy the Swedish people had to feed. Take, 
for example, the cathedrals. Most of them formed a 
little hierarchy in themselves. First of all was the 
archbishop or the bishop, who lived in regal splendor. 

1 As to Church fees and incomes see a letter of Brask, dated Dec. 
21, 1514, in Hist, handl, vol. viii. pp. 65-67. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 125 

Around him was his chapter, comprising in one instance 
as many as thirty canons. Then there was the arch- 
deacon, the cantor, the scholasticus, and some thirty 
or forty prebends. This little army of Church officers re- 
quired to be fed, and fed well — and the people of Sweden 
had to pay the bill. It was but natural, therefore, that, 
Sweden being heavily involved in debt, the monarch 
should seek to stay this wasteful extravagance and divert 
a portion of the Church incomes to the crown. 

By the war of independence the way had been already 
paved for a war against the Church. Christiern had de- 
clared himself the champion of the pope ; and the higher 
clergy, as vicegerents of the pope in Sweden, had generally 
allied themselves with the foreign party. So that the re- 
bellion had been in large measure directed against the 
authorities of the Church itself, and the victory of Gus- 
tavus was felt distinctly as a victory over the powers 
of the Church. The Chapter of Upsala had therefore 
deemed it policy to please Gustavus, and were talk- 
ing of electing his chancellor archbishop in place of 
Trolle, who had fled the realm. For a like reason 
the Chapter of Vesteras had chosen a former secretary 
of Sture to their vacant bishopric. The bishoprics of 
Strengnas and Skara, made vacant by the expulsion of 
the Danes, had also been filled by persons favorable 
to the general policy of Gustavus. So that when the 
new monarch assumed control, the dignitaries of the 
Church seemed likely to listen to his demands. 1 

It is not for a moment to be supposed that Gustavus 
at this time contemplated an opposition to the pope. 
1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., p. 58. 



126 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

Such an idea had been spread abroad by Christiern 
with a view to win sympathy in Europe ; but Gustavus 
had written to all the potentates of Europe to deny 
the charge, and had sent a messenger to the pope to 
raise a counter charge against Christiern as the mur- 
derer of two Swedish bishops in the slaughter of 1520. 
The pope, already distrustful of his Danish ally, had 
listened favorably to the message, and in the following 
summer, 1523, had sent a legate to Sweden to inform 
him further on the subject. 1 

This papal legate, Johannes Magni, was the son of 
a pious burgher of Linkoping, and along with his two 
brothers had been educated from childhood for the 
Church. At the age of eighteen so marvellous was his 
precocity that he was made a canon both of Linkoping 
and of* Skara. Later, as was the practice with scholars 
of that period, he continued his studies at several of 
the leading universities in Europe. But in spite of a 
sojourn of some seventeen years away from Sweden, 
he never ceased to keep up a fervid interest in the 
affairs of his native land. As soon as the atrocities of 
Christiern reached his ears, he made a personal visit to 
Pope Leo X. and denounced the practices of the Danish 
king. The suggestions which he offered seem to have 
been scorned by Leo ; but in 1521 that pontiff died, 
and his successor, Adrian VI., listened more readily to 
the Swedish canon. Adrian himself was from the north 
of Europe, and had earlier been an instructor of Jo- 
hannes in the University of Louvain. The characters 

1 Von der graiisamen tyranmschen myssehandelung ; Svart, Gust, 
I.'s kr'dn., pp. 56-58 ; and Sver. trakt., vol. iv. pp. 35-44-. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 127 

of the two were not unlike. Both held strong theologi- 
cal opinions, and looked with dread upon all opposition 
to the papal power. But they were both keenly alive 
to the abuses that had gathered about the Church, and 
were eager to repress them. Johannes was peculiarly 
suited by nature for a work of compromise. With no 
ordinary talents, of untiring energy, sympathetic, gen- 
erous, and conciliating, but withal imbued with an ar- 
dent love of the Church, Adrian at once discerned in 
him a valuable mediator. When, therefore, Gustavus 
wrote to Rome to defend himself against the charge 
of heresy, the pope selected Johannes as his legate, with 
instructions to proceed to Sweden and investigate the 
charges made against each other by Christiern and 
Gustavus. The legate, complying with these orders, 
arrived in Sweden while the diet of Strengnas was in 
session. He therefore made his way directly to that 
town. While on the road the tidings reached him that 
Gustavus Vasa had been elected king. As soon as the 
new monarch learned of his approach, he sent for him 
to come before the house. There he was overwhelmed 
with expressions of gratitude for his past interest in 
the Swedish cause. In return the legate addressed the 
house at great length in favor of Gustavus. The im- 
pression left upon his hearers was so pleasing that the 
Cabinet drew up a letter to the pope requesting that 
Johannes be given full authority, with the bishops of 
Sweden, to reform the Swedish Church. In the same 
letter opportunity was taken to denounce the vices of 
Archbishop Trolle, and to beg that, he having already 
resigned and fled the kingdom, the pope should use 



128 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTIOF. [Chap. V. 

his authority to have a new archbishop chosen in his 
stead. 1 

This document bears strong evidence of the influence 
of the king. Its allusion to the resignation of Arch- 
bishop Trolle was of course untrue. That prelate had 
fled the realm to escape the fury of his opponents, but 
he still looked for the restoration of Danish power and 
a return of his own prerogatives in the Swedish Church. 
The king's desire, as reflected in the letter of his Cab- 
inet, was to secure from the pope a recognition that the 
archbishopric was vacant, and then to use this recogni- 
tion to force the unwilling Chapter of Upsala to nominate 
as archbishop one who was in the interests of the king. 
The scheme, however, failed ; for Pope Adrian died be- 
fore he had had time to act, and was succeeded by a 
pontiff who hated everything which savored of reform. 

During the first months of his reign Gustavus was 
made wretched by the importunate demands of Lubeck. 
Her ambassadors continually dogged his steps, and de- 
clared they would not leave him till every cent that 
Sweden owed was paid. After the fall of Kalmar the 
monarch needed his foreign mercenaries no longer, and 
would gladly have cashiered them and sent them off. 
But the " klippings " struck the year before had so far 
lost the confidence of his subjects that the soldiers 
refused to take them at any price at all, and Gustavus 
was compelled to keep his men on foot till he could ob- 
tain the silver requisite to issue better coins. The diet 
just dissolved had passed an act providing for the levy 

1 Johannes Magni, Hist, pont., pp. 74-75 ; Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., 
p. 70 ; and Ron. Gust den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 88-89. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 129 

of new taxes to be paid in silver, and the king appar- 
ently had been given power to fix the mode in which 
the levy should be made. This was a matter which 
required skilful handling ; and it is fair to say that the 
policy which the king pursued, if not perfectly straight- 
forward, showed, at any rate, rare skill. Fearing lest 
another direct call upon the peasantry would raise an 
outcry, he resolved to make his application to the Church, 
and give her the option of surrendering a portion of her 
riches or of losing her prestige by laying new burdens 
on her devotees. With this in view he wrote first of all 
to Brask, and after demanding some five thousand guil- 
ders which he understood that prelate had stored away 
in Lubeck, he called upon him to collect four hundred 

- marks in silver from the clergy of his diocese. He then 
issued a proclamation to the churches and monasteries 
throughout the land to send him all the chalices, patens, 
and ornaments that could be spared from the altars, as 
well as all the silver coin that could be found ; and 
along with this he published a statement of the total 
amount which each diocese and monastery must pro- 
vide. Two things are noticeable in this proclamation : 

(j first, it does not specify the amount which each partic- 
ular church must furnish ; and, secondly, it distinctly 
states that the sums handed over are to be deemed as 
loans, which he will duly acknowledge and ultimately 
pay in full. In his letter to Brask, on the contrary, the 
exact amount for which the bishop must be responsible 
is named, and no definite promise is given to repay it. 
The document seems part of a deliberate plan to crush 
the power of the crafty bishop. This Brask noticed, 

9 



130 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

and in his reply adverted to a suspicion lest for some 
reason he had incurred the king's displeasure, which he 
would willingly avert. The simplest mode of averting 
the king's displeasure would have been a speedy compli- 
ance with the king's demand. For this, however, Brask 
had little relish. So Gustavus, two weeks later, wrote 
again. " We are much surprised," he said, " that you 
show no more concern while a weight like this rests 
upon the kingdom. The amount which we must raise 
without a moment's delay is two hundred thousand guil- 
ders, and the Lubeck ambassadors refuse point-blank to 
depart unless they take that sum with them. If they 
don't get it we fear open war, which God forbid ! There- 
fore, by the allegiance which you owe us and the realm, 
we exhort you, send the four hundred marks' weight 
without delay." Even this appeal had no immediate 
effect, and after two weeks more he sent Brask another 
despatch. "The Lubeck ambassadors," wrote the king, 
"will not leave us till they get the money which we 
owe in Lubeck, — a vast sum. It is, therefore, of neces- 
sity that we lay this tax upon the churches and monas- 
teries. Strain every nerve to obtain some relief for 
us in your diocese, especially from your churches and 
monasteries ; the clergy we shall spare for the present." 
The bishop finally complied, though with an ill grace ; 
and on the 10th of August we find Gustavus writing 
that he has so far satisfied the demands of Lubeck that 
her ambassadors have parted from him on good terms. 1 

1 Svart, Gust. Us kron. p. 73 ; Kon. Oust, den Forstes registrat., 
vol. i. pp. 97, 99-101, 108-111, 114-115, 119, and 298-300; and Lin- 
koping, Bibliotheks handl., vol. ii. pp. 204-205. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFOKMATION. 131 

The tax had been collected, though not without much 
friction. It had found the people in an irritable tem- 
per, and it had left them more irritable still. The ruin 
which the war had caused was visible on every hand, 
and the blessings that were expected to follow were not 
so easily discerned. During two years the fields had 
been lying fallow, commerce had steadily declined, and 
the people were actually suffering for food. Stockholm 
had been rendered desolate. Its population had fallen 
to about one quarter. " Every other house," wrote Gus- 
tavus, "is now empty;" and there appeared so little 
chance of a revival that the king issued a proclamation 
calling on the burghers of other towns as far as possi- 
ble to sell their houses and settle down in Stockholm. 
Another cause of dissatisfaction was that, though the 
war was over in Sweden, the Swedish possessions in 
Finland were still in the hands of the enemy, and a con- 
siderable army was needed to reduce them. Fredrik, 
king of Denmark, had resigned his claim to Sweden ; 
but certain islands off the coast, as well as some districts 
along the frontier of Norway, were still matters of dis- 
pute. All these circumstances tended to raise a spirit 
of discontent, which, though for the nonce restrained, 
was ready to break out into violence at any moment. 
To prevent evil, Gustavus resolved to issue a proclama- 
tion to the people. 1 

On the 8th of September the annual fair at Vesteras 
was opened, and Gustavus seized this opportunity to 

1 Kon. Gust, den Forstesregistrat., vol. i. pp. 107-108 and 121-129 ; 
Fonsell, Sver. hire hist., vol. ii. p. 72; and Sver. trakt., vol. iv. pp. 
44-55, G5-G7, and 69-74. 



132 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

make a public statement of his doings. This statement 
was in the nature of an apology for the recent tax. It 
declared in the first place that the expenses of the war 
had reached a higher figure than had ever been incurred 
by Swedish king before, amounting to a total of over nine 
hundred thousand marks. A large part of this sum was 
for foreign troops, hired that the Swedish peasantry might 
" stay at home in peace, tending their fields and pastures, 
and caring for their wives and children." When the 
war was over and the mercenaries were ready to depart, 
they had demanded with threats of violence immediate 
payment for all the arms and vessels they had furnished. 
Having no means to satisfy them, Gustavus had con- 
sulted with his Cabinet, and by their advice had called 
upon the churches and monasteries for a loan, " which 
with God's help shall be paid, if all goes well." " Nor," 
continued the monarch, "was this tax in any way a 
departure from the practice of former rulers, as may 
be seen by referring to the ancient records. . . . Some 
there are among you who assert openly or in private that 
we have fleeced the churches and monasteries. This 
we assert distinctly we have not done, but have merely 
called upon them for a loan, which shall be paid. . . . 
We trust you will give no heed to such conspirators and 
traitors, but will aid us in bringing them to punishment." 
The document closes with some remarks upon the coin- 
age. " It must be clear to all," it runs, " that with the 
enormous expenses which have been rolling up against 
us we could not issue coins of the quality which you are 
accustomed to of old. From sheer necessity we have 
issued ' klippings ' after the pattern of King Christiern, 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE KEFOKMATION. 133 

though his coins are now, thank God ! departed from 
the realm. . . . These 'klippings' are at present not 
accepted for more than half their worth ; and while 
this has been strenuously forbidden, the only result thus 
far has been that traders have refused to trade at all, 
and have carried their salt and hops and clothing back 
to Germany. We therefore intend at the first oppor- 
tunity to instruct our Cabinet with the most learned 
men of the various classes to determine whether the 
' klippings ' shall be accepted for their present value or 
for less ; and whatever their decision, we promise faith- 
fully we shall obey." 1 
After administering this soothing drug, the monarch 

! turned his thoughts once more to the appointment of a 
new archbishop. The letter despatched by the Cabinet 
to Pope Adrian immediately after the diet of Strengnas 

; had proved of little service, for Brask on the 18th of 

, July had secretly sent a messenger to the pope with 

; word that Church property was being confiscated. Gusta- 
vus, ignorant of the bishop's perfidy and wondering at the 

i pope's delay, now wrote again. " For a long time, Holy 
Father," began the courteous monarch, " our cathedral 
chapters have urged us to solicit you in behalf of the 
persons elected by them to fill their vacant posts. 
Trolle having resigned the archbishopric, the prelates 

l and canons of Upsala have chosen your legate Johannes 
Magni in his stead ; the canons of Skara have chosen 

• their archdeacon Magnus Haraldsson to the bishopric 
vacated by his predecessor's death ; and the canons of 
Strengnas have chosen their provost Magnus Sommar. 
1 Kon. Gust, den Farstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 121-129. 



134 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

The prelates and canons of Vesteras, their bishop hav- 
ing died, present the name of Petrus Magni for the post. 
In Abo, though the bishop died a year ago, no successor 
has as yet been chosen, that church having only recently 
been captured from our enemies. As the persons above 
named are satisfactory to us and to our people, we beg 
you to confirm them as soon as possible, and thus avert 
the danger to which vacancies in the episcopal office 
would expose the Church." , Whether or not the Chap- 
ters had actually elected all the persons named, may well 
be doubted, and is, indeed, of little moment ; for their 
spirit was by this time broken, and if they cherished any 
preferences they dared not speak them. The letter was 
intrusted to Johannes Magni with orders to obtain con- 
firmation from the pope and then return to Sweden. 
But just as he was making ready to depart, the long- 
awaited letter came from Adrian, though it differed 
much in tenor from what had been expected. Instead 
of urging the Upsala Chapter to choose a new arch- 
bishop, it commanded Gustavus to restore Archbishop 
Trolle to his post, threatening him with punishment if 
he refused. 1 

This change of colors on the part of Adrian has been 
accounted for in many ways. Johannes Magni himself 
suggested that it was the work of evil-minded counsel- 
lors in Rome. The more probable supposition is that 
Adrian had been influenced by Brask. If Church prop- 
erty was being confiscated, as Brask declared, Arch- 
bishop Trolle could be relied on to offer much more 

1 Kon. Gust, den Forstesregistrat., vol. i. pp. 129-134 and 139-140; 
and Theiner, Schwed. u. seine Stell. z. heil. Stuhl, vol. ii. pp. 6-11. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 135 

strenuous resistance than the prelate talked of as his 
successor. But the very reason which induced the pope 
to favor Trolle seemed to the king sufficient ground for 
supporting his opponent. It was precisely because of 
Johannes Magni's pliable and compromising temper that 
Gustavus would have rejoiced to see the mitre on his 
head. He was determined that Trolle, at any rate, 
should not wear it. So he sat down, as soon as Adrian's 
letter came, and wrote a warm reply to the College of 
Cardinals in Rome. " If our Most Holy Father," he 
said, " has any care for the peace of our country, we 
shall be pleased to have him confirm the election of his 
legate Johannes to the archbishopric, and we shall comply 
with the pope's wishes as to a reformation of the Chris- 
tian Church and religion. But if his Holiness, against 
our honor and the peace of our subjects, sides with the 
crime-stained partisans of Archbishop Trolle, we shall 
allow his legate to return to Rome, and shall govern 
the Church in this country with the authority, which we 
have as king, and in a manner which we believe will 
please God as well as all the princes of Christendom. 
We beg you, however, to use your authority in the 
Apostolic See in such way as not to harm our state, nor 
give the appearance of championing the crimes of Trolle 
against the tranquillity of a Christian people." Three 
days after writing this vehement despatch, the monarch 
sent off another, couched in language even more deter- 
mined, to the pope. " We shall never," he declared, 
" allow that man to return as our archbishop. He not 
only is unworthy of the priesthood, he is unworthy even 
to live. We respect the Roman Church, and if need be 



136 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

would die in her behalf. But if she endeavors thus to 
ruin our country, we shall resist her till the last drop 
of blood is shed." This document was placed in the 
hands of Olaus Magni, brother of the proposed arch- 
bishop, with orders to inform the pope of the evils to 
which the Church in Sweden was exposed, and to use 
his utmost endeavor to secure the confirmation of the 
bishops. The missive, however, never reached the pon- 
tiff to whom it was addressed. Adrian was already 
dead and buried ere the document was penned; and 
when the messenger arrived in Rome, he found another 
pontiff, Clement VII., seated in the papal chair. 1 
The breach between the king and popery was now 
I open. Gustavus had actually flung down the gauntlet 
, at the feet of Rome, asserting that if officers satisfac- 
tory to him were not appointed by the pope, he would 
take the duty of appointing them upon himself. Still he 
did not relinquish hope that the breach might yet be 
healed; and on the 2d of November he wrote again, 
this time requesting the pope to confirm the election of 
Erik Svensson, a former secretary of Gustavus, to the 

o 

vacant bishopric of Abo. " And if your Holiness," wrote 
the king, " shall delay in confirming the bishops-elect, we 
shall ourselves undertake the restoration of our ruined 
churches, and shall have the bishops confirmed by Him 
who is our High Pontifex, that His Church and reli- 
gion may not be injured through the negligence of the 
Apostolic See. Moreover, Most Holy Father, we hear 

1 Johannes Magni, Hist, pont., p. 75 ; ]£on. Gust, den Forstes regis- 
trat., vol. i. pp. 143-150; and Nya Keillor till Finl. Medeltidshist., pp. 
737-740. 






1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 137 

from certain men of Lubeck that one Francisco of Po- 
tentia has returned from Rome to Denmark with argu- 
ments in justification of that tyrant Christiern's massacre 
of our bishops, and that your Holiness has rewarded 
him with the ■ bishopric of Skara. If this be true, 
the Apostolic See has done us and the Church a 
wrong equal in enormity to that of the Danish king, 
and we shall by God's aid avert it if necessary with 
our blood. Let not your Holiness fancy that we shall 
permit foreigners to rule the Church in Sweden." At 
about the same time with this letter the monarch, in 
writing to Johannes Magni, uses even stronger lan- 
guage. After suggesting that Christiern has so impov- 
erished the Church that it is unable to send its bishops 
elect to Rome for confirmation, he asserts that it is 
rumored the real cause of the delay is that the Church 
has not been able to furnish the pope the customary 
fees for confirmation. " Some assert, too," he adds, 
"that there is no authority in Scripture for all the 
dues that belong by custom to the pope. ... So soon 
as we find that our patience and moderation are of no 
avail, we shall proceed to rigorous measures. We shall 
not suffer our people to bend beneath a cruel foreign yoke, 
for we are confident that Christ, who is our High Priest, 
will not let his people die to suit the pope's caprice." 1 

These were bold words to use of the potentate whose 
command all Christendom obeyed. The youthful mon- 
arch, it was already clear, intended to rule his country 
with an iron hand. When only three months on the 
throne, he chanced upon some letters in which the 

1 Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 172-174 and 178-181. 



138 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

bishop of Vesteras alluded to him in arrogant and 
contumelious terms. This bishop, who gloried in the 
name of Peder Sunnanvader, had been at one time 
chancellor of the young Sten Sture, and though elected 
in 1522 to the bishopric of Vesteras, had suffered the 
same fate as the other bishops and never been con- 
firmed. Gustavus did not hesitate a moment. As soon 
as the abusive letters reached him, he proceeded with 
the entire Cabinet to Vesteras, and summoned the 
bishop with all his canons to the chapter-house. There 
he laid before them the evidences of the bishop's guilt. 
Unable to furnish satisfactory explanation, the bishop 
was removed ; and the Chapter, at the instance of Gus- 
tavus, elected Petrus Magni in his stead. Even with 
this, however, the monarch's vengeance did not end. 
Knut, the dean of Vesteras and a former chancellor of 
Gustavus, — the man, indeed, who had been talked of 
for the archbishopric of Upsala, — was indiscreet enough 
to come forward at the trial with an apology for his 
bishop. The monarch wanted no other proof of his 
complicity, and discharged him along with Sunnanvader 
from his post. 1 

Gustavus was spurred on in his campaign against 
the Church by a continued need of money to keep his 
army in the field. Even after the subjection of Sweden 
he had to carry on the war in Finland ; and it was not 
till nearly Christmas, and after he had sent a strong 
force of mercenaries across the Baltic, that Finland was 
subdued. 2 After this the great bone of contention was 

1 Svart, Gust. Us kron., pp. 74-75. 

2 Ibid., pp. 73-74 ; and Sver. trakt., vol. iv. pp. 67-69. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 139 

the isle of Gotland. This island, or rather its capital, 
the town of Visby, had been in ages past the leader 
of the Hanseatic League. Its situation in the Baltic, not 
far from the east coast of southern Sweden, made it 
still of great value to merchant-vessels passing between 
Sweden and the Hanseatic Towns. When Christiern 
fled from Denmark, Gotland was under the control of 
Norby, who continued after his master's fall to make 
depredations along the coast of Sweden and seize all 
merchantmen that came within his grasp. Danish, 
Swedish, and Hanse vessels were alike his prey, till 
Gotland came to be known by all as a " nest of rob- 
bers." Fredrik and Lubeck, unwilling though they were 
that Gotland should fall to Sweden, welcomed any 
movement intended to root out this impediment to the 
Baltic trade, and raised no opposition when Gustavus 
offered, in the winter of 1524, to attack the island in 
the coming spring. The attitude of Fredrik to Gustavus 
recalls the fable of the monkey and the cat. The Danish 
king hoped ultimately to secure the chestnuts for himself, 
but in^ the mean time was not sorry to see an army 
gathering in Sweden to bear the brunt of the assault. 
Which party first proposed an expedition against Got- 
land is not clear. 1 At the general diet held in Vadstena 

1 No one apparently wished to father the expedition. Svart, who 
presents the king's side of the case, says, in his Gust. L's krbn., pp. 78- 
81, that Gustavus undertook the campaign at the urgent solicitation 
of Lubeck, who promised to defer payment of her loan for several years 
without interest, provided Gustavus would undertake the war. This 
proposition appears generous, but there is no trace of it in the con- 
temporary letters of the king. Those letters assert that Brask was 
the prime mover of the scheme ; but as Brask repudiated it at once, the 



140 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

in January, representatives from Fredrik were present, 
and it was agreed that the expedition should be made as 
soon as the harbors opened. The quotas to be furnished 
by the different parts of Sweden by the first week after 
Easter were also fixed. The Danish envoys, it appears, 
made no promises except that a congress of the two 
realms should be held on the 14th of February to settle 
all matters of dispute. The passports for the Danish 
envoys to this convention were issued by Gustavus on 
the spot. They were never used, however ; for just be- 
fore the appointed day he received notice from the 
Danish Cabinet that they wished the congress to be 
postponed. This action caused Brask to suspect that 
Fredrik's sole object was to use up time. Whatever 
Fredrik's object, the congress could not be held without 
him. Gustavus therefore postponed it till the end of 
April, and set about raising an army for himself. 1 

The first person to whom the monarch turned was 
Bishop Brask. It appears that there had been some 
dispute between the bishop and one of the hospitals in 
his diocese as to the tithes from certain lands. The 
shrewd monarch conceived the notion that the simplest 
mode of settling the dispute was to hand the disputed 
property over to the crown. He wrote, therefore, to 
both parties to send him at once the original documents 
on which they based their claims. " And meantime," 

responsibility for it cannot be fairly laid on him. See Eon. Gust, den 
Fbrstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 190 and 301. 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 34-35 ; Acta hist. Reg. Christ. II., pp. 4-9 ; 
Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 29-30 ; Handl. rbr. Skand. 
hist., vol. xvii. p. 172 ; and Kon. Gust, den Fbrstes registrat., vol. i. 
pp. 182, 184-185, 187-189, and 301-302. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 141 

he said, " we forbid you positively to collect the disputed 
tithes. Should you touch them, we shall be forced to 
take further steps. We have, indeed, been told that in 
the times of our fathers the crown received from the 
canons throughout the realm one fourth of their tithes 
under the name of ' the poor man's portion,' with the 
understanding that the money should be used to found 
hospitals, and over these hospitals the crown has ever 
since held jus patronatus." To this demand .Brask an- 
swered that he would send the documents desired, but 
that the crown had never taken the tithes from the can- 
ons except by force. A few weeks later, on the 18th 
of February, the king wrote Brask that the expedition 
would start as soon as the harbors opened, and that, as 
Brask had been one of the promoters of the scheme, he 
must expect to contribute generously toward it, espe- 
cially since he and his diocese, being nearest to the isle 
of Gotland, would be the ones most benefited by the 
overthrow of Norby. Brask, in his answer of March 
8, repudiated the idea that the expedition was the 
fruit of his brain, and expressed the hope that the mat- 
ter might be settled without bloodshed. " 'T is never 
wise," he said, "to break down doors already open." 
Brask asserted, further, that he had never received a 
penny of rent from Gotland, but promised to do all he 
could to obtain aid from the churches of his diocese. 1 

By this time it had become rumored that the king 
was about to levy a new tax upon the people, and a 
murmur of discontent had risen through the land. To 

1 Kon. Gust. denForstes regisirat., vol. i. pp. 185-186, 189-191, and 
300-302 ; and Linkoping, Bibliotheks handl., vol. i. pp. 153-155. 



142 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

allay this, Gustavus issued several letters, declaring that 
the contribution was to be wholly voluntary. One of 
the convents he begged to send him all the silver col- 
lected for a certain shrine, and offered to give the crown's 
note for the amount, secured, if the convent wished it, 
by a mortgage of certain crown fiefs. In writing to the 
people of Ostergotland he pointed out that the expedi- 
tion was necessitated by the piracies of Norby, who had 
caused a dreadful scarcity of food by checking imports ; 
and he called upon the people to have a detachment 
of armed men ready by the first week after Easter at 
the latest, promising at the same time that as soon as 
the fleet should put to sea the men would be provided 
for at the crown's expense. To the people of Brask's 
diocese he wrote that he had heard a rumor to the effect 
that he was imposing a new tax upon the people. This 
rumor the king characterized as " a palpable lie." He 
declared further that he had applied the crown rents 
to pay for the expedition, and had asked their bishop 
to make a loan from his rents for the same purpose, 
to which Brask had replied that he would lend the 
money, but would raise it by imposing a tax upon his 
churches. This Gustavus declared was not his desire ; 
all he wished was a free-will offering. From this letter 
it is clear the monarch sought to cast upon Brask the 
odium which this new levy had brought upon himself, 
and it is equally clear that in doing so he exceeded 
the bounds of truth. In calling upon Brask for a con- 
tribution he had in no way specified the mode in which 
the money should be raised ; and Brask, so far from 
refusing to apply his own rents for the purpose, had 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 143 

distinctly stated, in every letter which he wrote, that he 
would do his utmost to furnish the desired sum. 1 

A further cause of disaffection lay in the general 
impression that the monarch was tampering with the 
coinage. This impression had its origin naturally enough 
in the fact that the general diet held in January had 
repudiated the Swedish " klippings." The reason given 
for that act was that, the Danish " klippings " having 
been repudiated in Denmark the year before, merchants 
were bringing barrelfuls of them into Sweden ; so that 
the Swedish " klipping," being scarcely discernible from 
its Danish namesake, fell constantly in value, its fluc- 
tuations depending upon the importations of the repu- 
diated coin from Denmark. In the Act repudiating the 
Swedish " klipping " that coin was declared to be worth 
four " hvitar ; " that is, about one half of the amount 
which the crown had received in issuing it. The out- 
cry which this Act called forth was universal, and the 
king was forced to issue a letter to the people in which 
he endeavored to allay their wrath. " We have never," 
he declared with brazen falsehood, — "we have never 
altered the coinage either by raising or by lowering its 
value, but have permitted each coin to pass for the 
same value as it had before ; " and he added with bland 
simplicity, " the coin has fallen by its own weight." 
The striking feature in this matter is the audacity of 
the king. He trusted that the people generally would 
not have access to the documents which we now possess 
to contradict him. After issuing this mendacious letter, 
he approached the Stockholm merchants, and, by certain 

1 Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 191-192 and 193-197- 



144 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

persuasive arguments whose nature it is easy to con- 
ceive, prevailed upon them to deposit all their " klip- 
pings " in the treasury, to be weighed and bought by 
the Government at their actual bullion value. He then 
began the issue of a new series of coins approximating 
though still below their face value, and published another 
letter, this time acknowledging that he had repudiated 
the " klippings," but asserting that the step was taken 
to comply with a suggestion made him by the people. 1 

Late in March Gustavus received a note from Fredrik 
requesting a further postponement of the congress till 
May 15. As the Tend Cities were to be present, Gusta- 
vus answered that he would communicate with Lubeck, 
and so soon as he had word from her would give a defi- 
nite reply. He then despatched the Danish monarch's 

1 The documents relating to the repudiation of the " klippings " 
vary somewhat in phraseology. In the Royal Archives at Stockholm 
is an official contemporary statement of the business transacted by the 
general diet in January, 1524, which declares: " The 'klippings ' were 
in so far repudiated as to be valued at only four ' hvitar/ though any 
person may accept them for what he will." Kon. Gust, den Forstes reg- 
istrat., vol. i. p. 182 ; and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. pp. 17-20. Svart, 
Oust. I.'s kron., p. 76, asserts that the diet "repudiated the 'klip- 
pings.'" Tegel, Then stoormecht., p. 81, says, "the 'klippings' were 
utterly repudiated." In a letter issued by Gustavus to the people of 
Dalarne immediately after the passage of the Act he says the diet ad- 
vised " that the ' klippings ' fall so that they pass for only five ' hvitar/ 
to which we and our Cabinet consented." Kon. Gust, den Forstes reg- 
istrant., vol. i. pp. 182-183. In a letter issued at about the same time 
to the people of Vadstena, Gustavus made the same statement, except 
that he used the word "four" instead of "five." Kon. Gust, den 
Forstes registrat., vol. i. p. 184. The later letters of Gustavus, in 
which he declares that he has not repudiated his coinage, are printed in 
Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 196-197 and 202-207. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 145 

letter to Bishop Brask. The answer of that prelate was 
full of wisdom. " I marvel much," wrote Brask, " that 
his Grace should call a congress of these three realms 
without first consulting you. ... He must be well 
aware that you cannot be present on so short notice; 
especially since he knows that you are about to make 
an expedition against Gotland. His real purpose, I 
suspect, is to induce you to postpone your expedition." 
In this surmise the shrewd bishop doubtless was cor- 
rect. Fredrik, though satisfied that Sweden should go 
to great expense in preparing for an expedition against 
Gotland, was reluctant to see her armies actually land 
upon the isle, lest his own claims to Gotland might 
thereby be lost. It seemed to him that Norby, terrified 
by the armaments of Sweden, might be induced to go 
to Denmark and yield the isle to him. He therefore 
wrote to Sweden, requesting that the pirate be given a 
safe-conduct through the land. But the army was al- 
ready in the field, and Gustavus answered firmly that he 
would not comply with the request. To this answer 
he was induced partly by a suspicion that Denmark was 
already furnishing supplies to Norby. 1 

On the 8th of May Gustavus despatched his fleet, eight 
thousand strong, to Gotland. The command he gave to a 
German adventurer who has already figured in this 
story as Berent von Mehlen. This person, after break- 
ing faith with his former master, Christiern, had mar- 
ried a cousin of Gustavus, and had become a trusted 
counsellor of the king. By what traits he became at- 

1 Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 198-201, 211-212 
and 303-306. 

10 



146 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

tractive in his monarch's eyes it is at this day difficult 
to conceive. Certainly as a general he knew as little as 
any general possibly could know. Again and again he 
had been given opportunity to display his warlike power, 
but thus far in every instance he had failed. He now 
set forth, as admiral of the Swedish fleet, to besiege 
the town of Visby. The siege began on the 19th of 
May, and was enlivened during a few weeks by several 
skirmishes. Nothing of importance, however, was ac- 
complished. The siege was protracted through the 
summer, and at last the besiegers showed so little life 
that their leader, the favorite of Gustavus, was re- 
ported to have turned his coat once more and joined 
the enemy. 1 

Not yet had the siege begun when evidence was fur- 
nished that Fredrik was in league with Norby. So 
early as the 9th of May Gustavus wrote to Brask that 
the Danes were rumored to be supplying Norby with 
stores and ammunition. A few days later word arrived 
from Fredrik that he wished once more to put off the 
congress, this time till the 24th of June. Gustavus was 
now fairly mad with indignation, and declared to Brask 
that he would neither be present nor allow his envoys 
to be present at the proposed congress. He was dis- 
creet enough, however, to conceal his wrath from Fred- 
rik ; and, without refusing the offer of the Danish king, 
he called a meeting of his Cabinet, to which he urged 
Lubeck to send her envoys. Fredrik in the mean time 

1 Diar. Minor. Visbyens., p. 39 ; Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 36-38 ; 
Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., pp. 81-82 ; and Eon. Gust, den Forstes regis- 
trat., vol. i. pp. 218-219. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 147 

had been negotiating on his own account with Norby, 
and had wrung promises from him which led to the 
impression that Norby had thrown up his allegiance to 
Christiern II. and was ready to accept the authority of 
Fredrik. Elated by this false hope, the Danish monarch 
felt in a position to ignore the slight that had been 
put upon him by Gustavus, and sent delegates, appar- 
ently unbidden, to the Swedish king and Cabinet, pro- 
posing that a congress be held in Denmark to settle all 
matters of dispute, the Swedish army in the mean time 
to withdraw from Gotland, and Norby to be given safe- 
conduct from the isle. These terms Gustavus rejected 
with disdain, declaring that he had striven for the good 
of all to scatter Norby with his " nest of robbers," and 
would consent to a meeting with Fredrik only on con- 
dition that in the interval Norby should receive no aid 
of any shape or kind. Fredrik, finding that Gustavus 
was determined, and that Norby's feigned alliance was 
somewhat airy, yielded reluctantly to this condition. 
The Swedish army continued in its camp at Yisby ; 
and the two monarchs, attended by their Cabinets, pro- 
ceeded to the town of Malmo in hope of settling their 
disputes. The congress opened on the first day of Sep- 
tember. The two monarchs with their retinues were 
present, together with envoys from the Hanseatic Towns. 
The meeting opened, as was usual, with an interchange 
of courtesies and with mutual promises to resist their 
common enemy, King Christiern. It was agreed, too, 
that all renegades from either country should be re- 
turned, and that citizens of one country should be entitled 
to any property belonging to them in the other. As 



148 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

soon, however, as the question of disputed territory 
arose, it became clear that no conclusion could be reached. 
It was therefore resolved, after long debate, that this 
question be postponed, to be decided by a congress of 
certain Hanse Towns, to be held in Lubeck in June of 
the following year. Till then a provisional frontier 
agreed upon by Norway, Denmark, and Sweden was to 
be observed; and Gotland was to remain during the 
interval in the hands of that party which held it on 
September 1. If it should be found that Norby held 
it on that day, he should be called upon to surrender 
it to Fredrik, to be placed by him under the temporary 
control of some person satisfactory to Sweden, Den- 
mark, and Lubeck. If Sweden should continue the war 
in Gotland, she was to pay for all damage she might 
do. Either party by violating these terms was to be- 
come indebted to the other to the amount of one hun- 
dred thousand guilders. This conclusion reached, the 
congress was dissolved, envoys being first sent to Got- 
land to carry out the terms. Finding that Norby was 
still in possession, they entered into negotiations, and 
soon obtained a contract, signed by Norby as well as 
Mehlen, that each should withdraw his forces from the 
land. In conformity with this contract Mehlen at once 
broke. camp and sailed with all the Swedish fleet to Kal- 
mar ; but Norby, laughing at the credulity of his oppo- 
nent, continued to dominate the island, and began his 
piracies afresh. 1 

1 Eliesen, Chron. Skib., p. 577 ; Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 38-40 ; 
Svart, Gust. L's kron., pp. 82-83 and 93-96 ; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. 
ii. pp. 688-765 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 223-224, 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 149 

This disastrous expedition caused a heavy drain upon 
the Swedish treasury, an evil which the monarch sought 
to meet by new demands upon the Church. On the 9th 
of May he wrote to Brask that he must have more 
money, and that the bishopric of Linkoping, being bene- 
fited more than others by the expedition, must expect 
to bear the chief part of the cost. To this Brask an- 
swered humbly that he had already furnished more than 
his proper share, but would do his utmost to obtain the 
needed sum. This promise, however, did not satisfy 
the king ; and a few days later he sent a letter to Brask's 
chapter, declaring that they had collected certain rents 
belonging to the crown which must be yielded up with- 
out delay. Brask appears to have been a special object 
of the monarch's greed. On one occasion Gustavus 
seized some tithes belonging to that prelate, and then 
had face enough to write him that he had done so, his 
only excuse being that the army was in need of food. 
This high-handed mode of dealing with the Church is 
in marked contrast to the monarch's complaisance when 
dealing with the people. Before the common people 
Gustavus grovelled in the dust. Every day nearly he 
despatched some document granting new privileges to 
this town or to that ; and when the people of Kalmar 
refused to contribute on the ground that their trade 
had been ruined by foreign merchants, Gustavus sent 
back answer that he would remedy this wrong. The 
notion getting abroad in Brask's diocese that new taxes 
were being levied, Gustavus insisted that the bishop 

229-230, 236-241, 245-250 and 309-327 ; and Sver. trait., vol. iv. 
pp. 94-103. 



150 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

should counteract this view, thus practically forcing him 
to make the contribution from his private means. 1 

In spite of every effort to appease the people, discon- 
tent was fast spreading through the land. To attribute 
this entirely to the actions of Gustavus is unfair. His 
expedition against Gotland, it is true, had proved a fail- 
ure, and had cost his country dear. The monarch should 
have seen that, in the impoverished state of his finances, 
the duty of destroying Norby belonged to Denmark or 
Lubeck. But, granted that the expedition was ill-judged, 
its failure certainly did not justify revolt. The truth is, 
the Swedish people were so used to insurrection that the 
slightest disappointment sufficed to set the whole coun- 
try by the ears, and no sooner was the expedition 
brought to its humiliating end than the people began 
to look about for pretexts for revolt. One of the first 
cries raised against Gustavus was that he had trans- 
gressed the law by admitting foreign citizens into the 
Cabinet of Sweden. To this charge the monarch was 
unable to make a rational reply. At the very outset 
of his reign, he had displayed his first infatuation for 
foreign men by raising Mehlen to the highest honors of 
the state. Later another adventurer, one Count Johan 
von Hoya, had appeared upon the scene. The king 
had forthwith showered royal favors upon his head. 
Scarcely two months after landing Hoya had betrothed 
himself to the king's sister, and had been received by the 
infatuated monarch into the Swedish Cabinet. Such a 
course appeared to the people in direct opposition to the 

1 Eon. Gust, den Fdrstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 223-225, 227-236 
and 306-309, 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 151 

promise made by Gustavus that he would drive out 
foreign power. This evil, however, was but slight, in 
comparison with others that the people had to bear. In 
plain English, they were starving. The long-protracted 
war with Denmark, followed by the brutal piracies of 
Norby, had so reduced the supply of necessaries, partic- 
ularly salt, that few except the rich were able to get 
enough to stay their hunger. Hoping to allay the peo- 
ple's indignation in these matters, Gustavus called a 
meeting of his Cabinet in October, summoning at the 
same time two Linkoping burghers to advise the Cab- 
inet as to the best methods of improving trade. It is 
worthy of note, however, that though the meeting was 
expressly announced to be called for the purpose of 
improving trade, the documents describing the debate 
are devoted almost wholly to a consideration of methods 
to augment the royal funds. The king, it seems, came 
forward with a suggestion that, since he was likely soon 
to marry, some provision should be made for adding 
to his income, and some steps be taken to reimburse him 
for the sums advanced by him to carry on the war. 
What he particularly wanted was the right to fix, ac- 
cording to his own judgment, the amount of rents to 
be paid by crown estates. He suggested, further, that, 
since the pope would not confirm the bishops till they paid 
their fees, his coronation should be delayed no longer, but 
the bishops should perform the ceremony without the pa- 
pal sanction. He recommended also that, there being no 
satisfactory place in which to keep the Swedish cavalry, 
they be quartered in the various monasteries, " where," 
he added, " we find plenty of money, but very few 



152 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

monks." As to Hoya, he requested the Cabinet's sanc- 
tion of the proposed marriage, shrewdly intimating that 
while he favored citizens of Germany, he believed no 
marriage between a Swede and Dane should be allowed. 
The answer which the Cabinet made to these proposals 
shows traces of a feeble opposition along with a mani- 
fest endeavor to accommodate the king. First of all, 
the Cabinet advised the king to appoint a few of the 
most intelligent and able debaters in the realm to rep- 
resent the cause of Sweden at the congress to be held 
next year in Lubeck ; and in accordance with this sug- 
gestion the king named Hoya, and the new archbishop, 
Johannes Magni. Regarding the matter of conferring 
fiefs on Hoya, the Cabinet yielded to the king's desire. 
"Though the law declares," they said, "that no for- 
eigner shall enter the Cabinet or govern land or castle, 
yet we shall gladly see you grant him both castle and 
land as you deem best, doubting not that you will so 
watch over his and all other grants that your subjects 
suffer not." In accordance with this concession Hoya 
was given Stegeborg in fee, and his marriage with Mar- 
gareta was arranged to take place in January next. As 
to quartering in the monasteries, the conservative ele- 
ment prevailed, the Cabinet decreeing that it was not 
advisable to fill the monasteries with horse and men. 
That the coronation take place at once, the Cabinet 
strongly urged, though they refrained from expressing 
opinion as to the confirmation of the bishops. The 
proposition that the king be given power to regulate the 
royal rents was not rejected, but a hint was thrown 
out that the proper step was rather to prepare an accu- 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 153 

rate list of all crown property and collect the rents as 
due thereon of old. 1 

Clearly enough this meeting would not satisfy a hun- 
gry people. In fact apparently it added to their rage, 
and we find the people of Dalarne at this time drawing 
up a long list of grievances to be laid before the king. 
Their first and weightiest complaint was that certain 
rich men, stewards of the king, had bought up all the 
grain in their district, and had made a corner in it so 
that the poor man could not get enough to eat. Further 
than this, they protested against the king's practice of 
admitting into the kingdom all sorts of foreigners, " who 
have put their heads together to ruin the common peo- 
ple." This vehement lament aroused Gustavus to the 
gravity of his position, particularly as he learned that 
Sunnanvader was inciting the people to rebel. Hoping 
to quiet matters, he despatched his messengers to all 
parts of the kingdom with soothing words. He endeav- 
ored in every way to impress upon the people that the 
high price of food was due entirely to the war be- 
tween the emperor and the King of France ; and as to 
the repudiation of the "klippings," of which some people 
had complained, he asserted that he had thereby suf- 
fered far greater injury than his people. Sunnanvader' s 
conspiracy was the thing that caused him most anxiety, 
and on the 9th of December he addressed the Dalesmen 
on that theme. " Dear friends," he suavely wrote, " re- 
port has reached our ears that Sunnanvader has gone 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 31-35 ; Kon. Gust, den 
Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 251-265 ; and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. 
pp. 22-29. 



154 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

among you with plots to throw the kingdom into strife 
once more. We beg you in the name of God give him 
no heed. He has made statements about us, we are 
told, which are absolutely false ; among others, that we 
are about to restore Trolle to his archbishopric, — the 
man who deprived us of father and mother and threw 
our kingdom into ruin. As we have called a diet to be 
held in January, to investigate these charges among 
other things, we request you at that time or earlier to 
send representatives from every parish to judge between 
us ; and we hereby promise the said Sunnanvader safe- 
conduct to and from Stockholm for this investigation. 
You may make this proclamation to him ; and if he 
will not come, you may know that he is false. . . . 
Further, since we are informed that you are suffering 
from great lack of salt, we have just despatched to you 
between ten and twenty cargoes of salt to relieve your 
want." 1 

While Gustavus was thus dickering with the Dales- 
men, a far more weighty matter kept him continually 
on an anxious seat at home. This was the Reformation 
of the Romish Church. It has been already noted that 
f the Swedish Reformation was a political revolt, and at 
its outset had but little connection with theological dis- 
pute. The conflagration that had raged in Germany 
since 1519 produced no immediate effect in Sweden, and 
it was not till the spring of 1523 that the Swedish 
prelates felt real dread of Martin Luther. The father 
of the Swedish Reformation was Olaus Petri, a black- 

1 Dipl. Dal, vol. ii. pp. 31-39 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes regis- 
trat., vol. i. pp. 271-281 and 327-328. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 155 

smith's son, of Orebro. From his earliest years this 
champion of Luther had been educated by a pious father 
for the Romish Church. His childhood had been passed 
amid the religious influence of a monastery in his native 
town. There, with his younger brother Laurentius, he 
had shared the daily routine of a monk. TVhen a mere 
boy his father, little knowing the temptation to which 
his son would be exposed, had placed him in the Uni- 
versity of Wittenberg, where he sat for some years at 
the feet of Luther. On his return to Sweden in 1519, 
he was appointed to give instructions in the Bible to the 
youth of Strengnas. Though only twenty-two, he al- 
ready showed such promise that within a year he was 
chosen deacon of Strengnas, and placed at the head of 
the school belonging to the Chapter. The opportunity 
thus given him was great. The bishopric being vacant, 
the charge of things in Strengnas fell upon Laurentius 
Andrese, at the time archdeacon. Andreae, though fif- 
teen years his senior, was of a kindred spirit, and by a 
contemporary is described as a willing pupil of the 
young reformer. There can be no question that even at 
this period Petri was regarded as a man of strength. A 
portrait of him painted when still a youth shows in a 
marked degree the traits by which he was distinguished 
later. The face is full and round, with large, warm 
eyes twinkling with merriment, and a high, clear fore- 
head, from which is thrown back a heavy mass of wav- 
ing hair. The mouth is firm as adamant, and the 
sharp-cut lips and chin are eloquent of strength. Alto- 
gether, it is the picture of just the man that Petri after- 
ward became, — a brilliant orator, daring, good-natured, 



156 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

and gifted with a generous supply of common-sense. 
Precisely how much Petri owed to Martin Luther we 
cannot know. It is not, however, likely that at first his 
teaching in Strengnas differed materially from that in- 
culcated by the Romish Church. At any rate, he taught 
four years before any serious complaint was made. The 
first to charge him with heresy was Bishop Brask. On 
the 7th of May, 1523, that much-enduring prelate wrote 
to a member of the Upsala Chapter that a certain person 
in Strengnas had inflamed the people by preaching here- 
sies ; " and God knows," he added, " we are grieved 
enough to learn that he is not silenced." What these 
heresies preached by Petri .were, appears from a polemic 
hurled at the young reformer by Brask's deacon. They 
include, among other things, a denial of the priest's 
authority to solicit alms, with assertions that men 
should place no faith in the Virgin or in other saints, 
but in God alone; that the priest's first duty is to 
preach, not pray, and that confession should be made 
to none but God. Surely we have here the very essence 
of the Reformation. Brask was already trembling with 
apprehension, and despatched a letter to a brother bishop 
to say that the heresies of Petri had begun to break 
out in Upsala. " We must use our utmost vehemence," 
he gasped, " to persuade Johannes Magni to apply the 
inquisition to this Petri ; otherwise the flame will spread 
throughout the land." Magni, it is clear, was deemed a 
little lukewarm by such ardent men as Brask, and on 
the 12th of July we find Brask pouring out a flood of 
Latin eloquence to excite the tranquil legate. In noth- 
ing is Brask's sagacity more manifest than in the enthu- 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 157 

siasm which he here displayed. He discerned with per- 
fect clearness that the battle must be fought at once. If 
Petri should once gain the people's ear, all hope was lost. 
Romanism was no match for Lutheranism in an open 
war. He therefore sought to stamp out the new teach- 
ings without allowing them to be fairly known ; and 
had his superiors shown equal zeal, the Reformation 
might have been delayed. 1 

A few days after his earnest appeal to Magni, Brask 
despatched to the Vadstena Chapter a tract in refuta- 
tion of the Lutheran doctrines, and along with it a 
sermon preached by Petri, "in which," so wrote the 
bishop, " you will observe his blasphemy of the Holy 
Virgin." Brask, despite his spiritual duties, was no 
ascetic, and, though suffering at the time from illness, 
added a postscript begging the Chapter to let him have 
a box of nuts. Apparently these delicacies came ; for 
the bishop's next letter, written to the pope, was in a 
happier vein. " I have just had from Johannes Magni 
a letter on exterminating heresy which fills my soul 
with joy. . . . I grieve, however, to tell you that the 
heresy which had its birth in Germany has spread its 
branches across this kingdom. ... I have sought to 
the utmost of my power to stay the pestilence, but 
through lack of authority outside my diocese, could not 
accomplish what I would. . . . Give me your orders to 
act outside my diocese, and I will crush the heresy with 
my utmost zeal." About this time the bishop received 
a letter from Johannes Magni that must have soothed 

1 Johannes Magni, Hist, pont., p. 75 ; Svart, Gust. I.'s kron., p. 92 ; 
and Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xvii. pp. 117-119 and 135-148. 



158 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V, 

his temper. " God knows/' the legate wrote, " how 
eagerly I burn to effect the hoped-for freedom of the 
Christian Church, had not circumstances been adverse. 
I have at any rate pleaded with the king, and he has 
promised to maintain our rights. He says that if any 
of his soldiers wrong our tenants, they do so at their 
peril. When I spoke to him of the burdens that had 
been put upon us, he exclaimed with tears in his eyes 
that no one felt it more than he, that it had been neces- 
sary and contrary to his will, and that it was his full 
intention so soon as peace was restored to refund the 
money we had furnished. He promised also to repress 
the Lutheran heresy, though he urged me to use persua- 
sion rather than force, lest by conflict of opinions the 
whole Church be overturned." The impression left on 
Magni by his monarch's tears is probably the impres- 
sion that the monarch had designed. We have no 
reason to suppose Gustavus cherished any affection 
yet for Luther, but neither is there reason to suppose 
he hated him. What he hoped for above all else was 
to keep the bishops under his control, and the surest 
way to do so was to keep the Church at enmity with 
Luther. 1 

That Gustavus played his cards with skill is mani- 

1 Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xvii. pp. 151-155 and 157-159. 
There is preserved among Brask's documents of this period a procla- 
mation, purporting to be issued by Gustavus, forbidding the sale of 
Lutheran tracts within the realm. Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xvii. 
pp. 159-160. No reference, however, is made to it in other writings ; 
and as it is clearly contrary to all the monarch's later views, it is cer- 
tain that it did not emanate from him. Probably it was a mere concept 
drawn by Brask in the hope that it would meet with royal favor. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 159 

fest from a letter written by Magni to the Linkoping 
Chapter. " I understand," he wrote, " that yon feel 
little anxiety at my proposed return to Rome, thinking 
that I have not shown enough energy in restoring the 
disabled Church. I may say, however, that I have 
pleaded and now plead for her before the king, who 
protests that his whole heart is in her preservation, 
and that any harm done by his officers to our tenants 
has been done against his will. He says too, and with 
tears in his eyes regrets, that the importunity of his 
soldiers has forced him to lay burdens on the Church. 
Nor is it his Majesty's intention to compel our weary 
priests to give up the care of souls. His excuse for 
exacting tribute from the churches to aid the kingdom 
is that he undertook the war as much for the freedom 
of the Church as for the safety of the kingdom. I give 
you this excuse for whatever it is worth. His Majesty 
promises that when he has paid the enormous debt 
contracted to Lubeck, and has wholly freed the king- 
dom, both clergy and people shall rejoice as never they 
have rejoiced before. In the extirpation of Lutheran- 
ism I am aided as much by the efforts of his Majesty 
as by the authority of the pope. It seems to me that the 
strife going on by letters among the clergy should be put 
to an end, and more toleration shown. I know it will, 
if continued, spread conflagration in other lands. The 
clergy of Strengnas have promised me firmly that they 
will abstain from all new doctrines, and will send out 
no more letters unless they are harassed." This warn- 
ing from the legate proves that the Swedish prelates 
were already cutting one another's throats. Apparently, 



160 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

too, it worked like magic in quieting their disputes, for 
six months now elapsed before the charge of heresy 
was raised again. 1 

On the 21st of February, 1524, Laurentius Andreae 
returned to the assault with a long epistle to the Vad- 
stena Chapter. This epistle is moderate in tone, and 
contains this sound advice : " His Majesty desires that 
when you discover strange doctrines in the books of 
Luther or of any other, you should not reject them with- 
out a fair examination. If then you find anything 
contrary to the truth, write a refutation of it based on 
Holy Writ. As soon as scholars have seen your answer 
and have determined what to accept and what reject, 
you can preach according to their judgment and not ac- 
cording to your individual caprice. I suspect, however, 
there will hardly be many among you able to refute 
these doctrines ; for, though but little of the so-called 
Lutheran teaching has •come to my knowledge, I am 
convinced that Luther is too great a man to be refuted 
by simple men like us, for the Scriptures get their 
strength from no man, but from God. Even if we have 
the truth on our side, 't is folly for us who have no arms 
to attack those who are well equipped, since we should 
thus do nothing but expose our own simplicity. . . . 
Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good. Search 
the spirit to see whether it be of God. I would urge every 
one to read the new doctrines. Those who persuade or 
command you otherwise, appear to me to act contrary to 
the Scriptures, and I suspect they do not wish the truth to 
come to light. ... If there be any among you whom this 
1 Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xvii. pp. 162-164. 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 161 

letter offends, let him write to me, pointing out where I 
am wrong, and I will withdraw my statements." Brask, 
though offended deeply, scorned the challenge. Instead 
of answering Andreae, he wrote to the bishop of Skara, 
saying : " Certain persons are beginning to urge that we 
should not banish Luther's writings, but should study 
them carefully to the end that we may write against 
them, as if, forsooth, we were simple enough to trouble 
ourselves about the effrontery of Luther. He flatters 
himself that he possesses greater wisdom than all the 
saints. But we shall bow the knee to God, not man, 
and shall do our utmost that the kingdom be not cor- 
rupted by this new heresy." Brask was now boiling 
with indignation, and a few days later wrote a friend : 
" I have no fear of Luther or any other heretic. Were 
an angel from heaven to predict his victory, I should not 
waver." 1 

This feigned assurance on the part of Brask was not 
deep-set. In the secrecy of his own cloisters he contem- 
plated the issue with fear and trembling. This is clear 
from a letter penned at this period to the monarch. 
" By the allegiance which I owe you," wrote the bishop, 
" I deem it my duty to urge you not to allow the sale 
of Luther's books within the realm, nor give his pupils 
shelter or encouragement of any kind, till the coming 
council of the Church shall pass its judgment. ... I 
know not how your Grace can better win the love of 
God, as well as of all Christian kings and princes, than 
by restoring the Church of Christ to the state of har- 
mony that it has enjoyed in ages past." The same 

1 Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xvii. pp. 205-216 and 220-223. 
11 



162 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

day that this letter was despatched, Brask wrote to a 
friend in terms which show that his anxiety was great. 
After intimating that the king's constant demands on 
him for money were probably inspired by the friends 
of Luther, he exclaimed : " This party is growing all too 
fast among us, and I greatly fear lest some new heresy, 
which God forbid ! may break out soon." As the king 
appeared not likely to take very stringent measures to 
repress the heresy, the bishop hastened to exert his own 
authority, and issued a mandate, to be read from all 
the pulpits in his diocese, forbidding the sale of Luther's 
books and teachings. A few days later the monarch's 
answer came. It was couched in temperate language, 
but offered little solace to the bishop. " Regarding 
your request," so wrote Gustavus, " that we forbid the 
sale of Luther's writings, we know not by what right 
it could be done, for we are told his teachings have 
not yet been found by impartial judges to be false. 
Moreover, since writings opposed to Luther have been 
circulated through the land, it seems but right that his, 
too, should be kept public, that you and other scholars 
may detect their fallacies and show them to the people. 
Then the books of Luther may be condemned. As to 
your charge that Luther's pupils are given shelter at 
our court, we answer that they have not sought it. If 
indeed they should, you are aware it is our duty to pro- 
tect them as well as you. If there be any in our pro- 
tection whom you wish to charge, bring your accusation 
and give their names." The method of trial suggested 
in this letter was not in harmony with the bishop's 
views. What he wanted was an inquisition, and in 



1523-24.] BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 163 

writing to a fellow-bishop he did not hesitate to say so. 
"I maintain that every diocese should have an inqui- 
sition for this heresy, and I think our Most Holy Fa- 
ther ought to write his Majesty to that effect." The 
mere prohibition of Luther's writings was of no avail. 
As Brask declared to Johannes Magni, " The number of 
foreign abettors of Lutheranism is growing daily, despite 
our mandate, through the sale of Luther's books. I fear 
the remedy will be too late unless it is applied at once." 1 
This letter was written on the 20th of June, 1524. 
About the same time Petri was called to Stockholm to 
fill the post' of city clerk, and Andrea?, already secretary 
to the king, was made archdeacon of Upsala. This 
double advancement of the Lutheran leaders left no 
room longer to doubt the king's designs. From this 
time forth he was felt on every hand to be an enemy to 
the Romish Church. The striking fact in all this his- 
tory is the utter absence of conscientious motives in 
the king. Though the whole of Christendom was ablaze 
with theological dispute, he went on steadily reducing 
the bishops' power with never a word of invective against 
their teaching or their faith. His conduct was guided 
solely by a desire to aggrandize the crown, and he seized 
without a scruple the tools best fitted to his hand. Had 
Brask been more compliant, or the Church less rich, 
the king would not unlikely have continued in the faith. 
The moral of all this is to hide your riches from those 
that may become your foes. 

1 Handl. ror Skand. hist., vol. xiii. pp 48-50 and 52-54, and vol. 
xviii. pp. 234-236 and 237-239 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., 
vol. i. pp. 231-233 and 306-309. 



164 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. V. 

The part that Brask played in this drama calls forth 
a feeling of respect. Artful and manoeuvring though he 
was, there were certain deep principles within his breast 
that only great adversity could touch. Of these the 
most exalted was his affection for the Church. Apart 
from all her splendor and the temporal advantages to 
which her service led, Brask loved her for herself. She 
was the mother at whose breast he had been reared, and 
the feelings that had warmed his soul in childhood could 
not easily be extinguished now that he was old. Every 
dart that struck her pierced deep into his own flesh, and 
a premonition of the coming ruin overwhelmed him with 
bitter grief. It was this very grief, however, that raised 
him to rebel. The old vacillating temper that he had 
shown in days gone by was his no longer. Drear and 
dismal though the prospect was, he did not hesitate, but 
threw himself into the encounter heart and soul. From 
this time forth, with all his cunning and sagacity, he 
was the steadfast leader of the papal cause. 



Chapter VL 

RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 1524-1525. 

Riot of the Anabaptists. — Contest between Olaus Petri and Peder Galle. 
— Marriage of Petri. — Conspiracy of Norby ; of Christina Gyllen- 
stjerna ; of Mehlen ; of Sunnanvader. — Attitude of Fredrik to Gusta- 
vus. — Proposition of Gustavus to resign the Crown. — Norby's Incursion 
into Bleking. — Surrender of Visby. — Flight of Mehlen. — Fall of 
Kalmar. 

BY the autumn of 1524 the whole of Sweden was in 
a ferment of theological dispute. When Gustavus 
returned from the congress of Malmo to the capital, he 
found the people in a wild frenzy of religious zeal. The 
turmoil was occasioned mainly by the efforts of two 
Dutchmen, Melchior and Knipperdolling, who had re- 
nounced their respective callings as furrier and huckster 
to spread abroad the teachings of a new religious sect. 
The history of this strange movement has been so often 
told that it is hardly necessary to waste much time 
upon it here. It originated doubtless in the stimulus 
that Luther's preaching had given to religious thought. 
As so frequently occurs, the very enthusiasm which the 
Reformers felt for things divine led them to disregard 
their reason and give their passions undivided sway. 
One of the chronicles puts it : " Wherever the Almighty 
builds a church, the Devil comes and builds a chapel by 



166 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

its side." The thing that most distinguished these weird 
Dutchmen was their communistic views. They taught 
that, since we all were equal in the eyes of God, we 
should all be equal likewise in the eyes of men, that 
temporal government along with class distinctions of 
every kind should be abolished, and that Christians 
should indulge in absolute community of goods. In re- 
ligious matters, too, they had peculiar views, believing 
that only adults should receive baptism, and that all 
adults who had been baptized in infancy should be bap- 
tized again. By reason of this tenet they were known 
as Anabaptists. Their first appearance in the Swedish 
capital occurred at a moment when the monarch was 
away. In that, at any rate, they manifested sense. The 
capital was all agog with Luther's doctrines, and every- 
thing that bore the stamp of novelty was listened to with 
joy. Melchior and Knipperdolling were received with 
open arms, the pulpits were placed at their disposal, and 
men and women flocked in swarms to hear them. The 
town authorities raised no opposition, believing the influ- 
ence of these teachers would be good. In a short time, 
however, they were undeceived. The contagion spread 
like wildfire through the town, and every other citizen 
began to preach. Churches, monasteries, and chapels 
were filled from morn till eve, and pulpits resounded 
with doctrines of the most inflammatory kind. All 
government was set at naught, and every effort to stay 
the tempest merely added to its force. Finally these 
fanatics made war upon the altars, throwing down stat- 
ues and pictures, and piling the fragments in huge heaps 
about the town. They dashed about like maniacs, a wit- 



1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 167 

ness writes, not knowing what they did. How far their 
madness would have led them, it is idle to conceive. 
Gustavus returned to Stockholm while the delirium 
was at fever heat, and his presence in an instant 
checked its course. He called the leaders of the riot 
before him, and demanded sharply if this raving lunacy 
seemed to them religion. They mumbled some incohe- 
rent answer, and, the fury having spent its force, most 
of them were reprimanded and discharged. Melchior 
with one or two others was kept in jail awhile, and then 
sent back to Holland, with orders not to return to Swe- 
den on pain of death. Some ten years later Melchior 
was executed along with Knipperdolling for sharing in 
the famous riot of the Anabaptist sect in Miinster. 1 

The hurricane had swept past Stockholm and was 
gone, but evils of every kind existed to attest its force. 
Among the greatest sufferers from this fanaticism were 
the partisans of Luther. Their attitude to the rioters 
had at first been doubtful, and the condemnation heaped 
on Melchior and Knipperdolling fell partially on them. 
People in general could not distinguish between fanatics 
and Luther. They were all deemed heretics, and Gus- 
tavus was roundly cursed for neglecting the religion of 
his fathers. To soothe the people Gustavus planned a 
journey through the realm, intending to set forth before 
the autumn closed. This journey he was forced by stress 
of circumstances to postpone. He therefore turned to 
other methods to effect his end. The strongest feature 
of the Lutheran doctrine was that it purported to be 
based upon the Word of God. To such a pretension no 
1 Svart, Gust. Vs kr'6n. t pp. 96-98. 



168 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

one but an unbeliever could object. Lutheranism was 
opposed on the ground of its presumed basis in the 
idiosyncrasies of men. Gustavus, confident that this 
idea was false, resolved to put the question to a test. 
Accordingly, among matters to be discussed at the Cab- 
inet meeting in October, we find a proposition that all 
priests be ordered to confine their teaching to the Word 
of God. The fate of this sound measure is not known. 
It appears nowhere in the list of subjects on which the 
Cabinet took a vote. A fair conclusion is that the ques- 
tion was too broad to be determined at the time, and 
therefore was omitted from the calendar by consent 
of all. 1 

Gustavus was determined, however, that the matter 
should not drop. Convinced that any discord inside the 
Church would be a benefit to the crown, he resolved to 
hold a theological disputation, and selected a champion 
from the two chief factions, with orders to appear at 
Christmas in Upsala and defend the doctrines of his 
party in open court. The Lutheran gladiator of course 
was Petri, his opponent being one Peder Galle, a learned 
canon of Upsala. The main points that were discussed 
are these: man's justification; free will; forgiveness 
of sins ; invocation and worship of saints ; purgatory ; 
celebration of vigils and masses for the dead ; chanting 
of the service; good works, and rewards; papal and 
monastic indulgences ; sacraments ; predestination ; ex- 
communication ; pilgrimages. The battle on these ques- 
tions was fought, December 27, in the Chapter-house at 

1 Svart, Gust. L's kron., pp. 98-99 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes 
registrat., vol. i. p. 254. 



1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AXD CIVIL WAR. 169 

Upsala ; and the chronicle tells us, somewhat unneces- 
sarily, that the fight was hot. Each party was strug- 
gling for the very kernel of his faith. If the Bible 
were acknowledged to be our sole authority in religious 
things, the whole fabric of the papal Church was wrong. 
On the other hand, if power were granted to the Fathers 
to establish doctrines and methods supplementary to the 
Bible, the Lutherans had no right to disobey. As Gus- 
tavus was arbiter of the battle, there could be no doubt 
of the result. Petri is asserted to have come off victor, 
on the ground that his citations were all from Holy 
Writ. 1 

Flattered by this great victory, the Lutherans grew 
bold. Though not so turbulent as before the riot, they 
showed much indiscretion, and Gustavus often found it 
necessary to interfere. What annoyed him chiefly was 
their bravado in alluding to the popes and bishops. 
The hierarchy of Romanism was fixed so firmly in peo- 
ple's hearts that every effort to dislodge it caused a jar. 
Especially in the rural districts was it necessary not to 
give alarm. A single deed or word might work an in- 
jury which many months of argument could not efface. 
It is not strange, therefore, that the king was troubled 
when Petri, in February, 1525, violated every rule of 
Church propriety by being married publicly in Stock- 
holm. The marriage fell like a thunderclap upon the 
Church. Brask apparently could not believe his ears. 
He dashed off a letter to another prelate to inquire 
whether the report was true, and finding that it was, 
wrote to the archbishop as well as to the king, denoun- 
1 Svart, Gust. Vs krdn., pp. 99-100. 



170 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI- 

cing the whole affair. " Though the ceremony has been 
performed," he argued, " the marriage is invalid, for 
such was the decree made by the sixth Council of the 
Church." In his letter to the king, Brask used these 
words : " Your Majesty must be aware that much talk 
has been occasioned by the marriage in your capital of 
' Olaus Petri, a Christian priest. At a future day, should 
the marriage result in children, there will be much 
trouble, for the law declares that children of a priest 
shall stand, in matters of inheritance, on a par with 
bastards. . . . Even in the Grecian Church, where per- 
sons who are married may be ordained on certain terms, 
those already priests have never been allowed to marry. 
Petri's ceremony is not a lawful marriage, and places 
him under the ban, according to the doctrines of the 
Church. For God's sake, therefore, act in this matter 
as a Christian prince should do." On receiving this let- 
ter, Gustavus, who had been in Upsala when the act 
occurred, called for the offending preacher and asked 
him what excuse he offered for violating the ancient 
customs of the Church. To this the culprit answered 
that he was ready to defend his conduct in open court, 
and prove that the laws of God should not be sacri- 
ficed to the laws of men. The king then wrote to Brask 
and assured him that if Petri should be shown to have 
done wrong, he should be punished. The king's own 
prejudices are manifest in the words with which his 
letter closed. " As to your assertion," he said, " that 
Petri's act has placed him under the ban, it would 
seem surprising if that should be the effect of marriage, 
— a ceremony that God does not forbid, — and yet that 






1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 171 

for debauchery and other sins which are forbidden, one 
should not fall beneath the ban. ... In making this 
charge concerning Petri, you appear elated at the oppor- 
tunity thus given you to censure me." This last insinu- 
ation the bishop strenuously denied. " God knows," he 
wrote the king, " that I have acted for your welfare in 
this matter, as well as for my own. What joy I or any 
other could feel in my present age and infirmity, I leave 
to God. Petri has sent me an apology for his act. It 
is full of words, but void of sense. I shall see to it, 
however, that it gets an answer." 1 

These stormy scenes within the Church were but the 
echo of what was going on outside. As the autumn 
advanced it became each day more clear that Fredrik 
had victimized the king at Malmo. The Swedish army 
had retired from Gotland, and Norby with his horde of 
pirates remained in statu quo. Brask, who had the in- 
terests of Sweden constantly at heart, was the first per- 
son to suspect foul play. So early as December 9 he 
told a friend his fears had been aroused. Gustavus, 
if he had suspicions, kept them dark. He opened cor- 
respondence with Norby, hoping to inveigle him into a 
conference in Stockholm. Norby, however, knew the 
trick himself. The weather was such, he answered, that 
he could not come. Some few weeks later Gustavus wrote 
to Mehlen that the promises made to him at Malmo had 
not been fulfilled. He also sent his messengers to Den- 
mark denouncing Norby's course. But all this time 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kr'dn., p. 99 ; Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. 
pp. 33-41 and vol. xviii. pp. 265-266 and 273-276 ; and Kon. Gust, 
den Forstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 83-86 and 272-276. 



172 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

his communications with Norby were filled with warm 
assurance of respect. 1 

The truth was, Norby cherished a project far more 
ambitious than either Fredrik or Gustavus could sup- 
pose. In January, 1524, the brave Christina, widow of 
the young Sten Sture, had returned to Sweden after her 
long captivity in Denmark. The same ambitious spirit 
that had filled her breast in earlier days was with her 
still, and she longed to see upon her son's head the crown 
that but for his early death would have been worn by 
her husband. This son, a mere boy of twelve, had re- 
cently returned from Dantzic, whither he had been sent 
as exile four years before by Ghristiern. He had disem- 
barked at Kalmar, and still remained there under cus- 
tody of Mehlen. In this state of affairs the piratical 
Norby conceived the project of marrying Christina, and 
then of conjuring with the name of Sture to drive Gus- 
tavus out of Sweden. To this bold scheme Christina 
apparently gave her consent. At all events, the news 
of her projected marriage was spread abroad, and noth- 
ing was done on her part to deny it. 2 

Norby's chief anxiety was to get possession of the boy. 

1 Randl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xiii. pp. 107-110; and Kon. Gust, 
den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 281-284 and vol. ii. pp. 12 and 19. 

2 Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. ii. p. 781 and vol. iv. p. 1530; Handl. 
ror. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 30-33, 41-44 and 61-65, and vol. xvii. 
pp. 182 and 188-189 ; and Eon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. ii. 
pp. 24-26. Some modern writers, unwilling to believe Christina base 
enough to marry Norby, regard the whole story of her consent as false. 
It seems impossible, however, that a false rumor should have been so 
generally believed by those who knew her. The more natural assump- 
tion is that her ambition caused her to accept the advances of her suitor 
even if she did not positively yield to his request. 






524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 173 

Mehlen had shown reluctance to give him to Christina, 
and one might readily conclude his purpose was to hand 
him over to the king. Such a purpose, however, Meh- 
len seems never to have entertained. He preferred to 
watch developments, and at the proper moment resign 
his charge to the party that should make the highest 
bid. The truth is, Mehlen had fallen into disrepute. 
His pusillanimous conduct in the siege of Visby had 
gradually dawned upon the king, and ere the close 
of 1524 report was spread that Mehlen had incurred 
his monarch's wrath. Though summoned to Stockholm 
in January to the marriage of the monarch's sister, he 
did not venture to appear, but wrote a letter to Gustavus 
begging for a continuance of favor at the court. The 
answer that came back was characteristic of the king. 
Stripped of all its verbiage, it was an assurance that 
the general report was wrong. Mehlen might still bask 
in the smiles of royalty, and must pay no heed to public 
slander. In confirmation of these sentiments Gustavus 
induced the Cabinet to enclose a letter. " Dear brother," 
the Cabinet lovingly began, " we hear a rumor is abroad 
that you have grown distasteful to the king, and you 
are said to shun his presence in fear of danger to your 
life. We declare before Almighty God we never heard 
the monarch speak one word in your disfavor, though 
we can well believe there may be slanderers who would 
rejoice to see such discord spread. We doubt not you 
will stamp out such discord with your utmost power. 
Therefore we beg you pay no heed to evil messengers, 
but come here at the earliest opportunity to the king." 
This urgent exhortation meeting with no response, some 



174 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

three weeks later the monarch wrote again, still with a 
show of friendship, but insisting on the immediate pres- 
ence of the erstwhile favorite in Stockholm. So impera- 
tive an order Mehlen dared not disobey. Proceeding at 
once to Stockholm, he appeared before the king, and 
soon discovered that his worst suspicions were not far 
from true. The assurances of his monarch's favor had 
been a blind to decoy the officer away from Kalmar. 
On the 12th of March Gustavus removed him from the 
post, and appointed another officer, Nils Eriksson, in his 
stead. Anticipating that the change might cause some 
friction, the monarch sent off a whole batch of letters 
in explanation of his act. One of these letters, though 
a trifle lengthy, is perhaps worth quoting. It is ad- 
dressed to the fief of Kalmar, and runs in this wise: 
" Dear friends, we thank you warmly for the devotion 
and allegiance which you, as true and loyal subjects, 
have exhibited toward us as well as toward the king- 
dom of your fathers. You will remember that last 
summer, when we despatched our fleet to Gotland to 
besiege Norby in the castle and town of Yisby, and when 
he found that he could expect no aid from Christiern, 
he sent his ambassadors to take oath of allegiance to 
Fredrik, King of Denmark. His purpose, which we 
clearly saw, was simply to cause dissension between the 
kingdoms, thus giving Christiern opportunity to come 
forward and seize the reins once more. It appearing to 
us and to our Cabinet unwise to permit a new war at that 
time to spring up between the kingdoms, we proceeded 
with delegates from our Cabinet to a congress of the 
realms at Malmo. There we made a permanent alliance 






1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 175 

with each other and the Hanseatic Towns against King 
Christiern. We agreed, moreover, that our respective 
claims to Gotland should be left to arbitration. When, 
now, Norby saw that the dissension which he had longed 
for was not likely to ensue, he disregarded every oath 
that he had made to Fredrik, and continued in his old 
allegiance to King Christiern. He also feigned a will- 
ingness to come to terms with us, if we would protect 
his interests in this kingdom. This he offered, as we 
have now found out, in hope of causing discord between 
us and the Hanseatic Towns. He has, too, spread a 
rumor among the Danes and Germans that we had 
entered into an alliance with him against them. Of 
any such alliance we assure you we are ignorant. Now, 
as to Mehlen, we are told he does not wholly please 
you. We have therefore recalled him from his post, 
and made Nils Eriksson commander of Kalmar Castle 
and governor of the town and fief. We beg you be sub- 
missive and pay to him all rents and taxes which fall 
due until we find an opportunity to visit you in person. 
He will govern you, by God's help, according to Saint 
Erik's law and the good old customs of your fathers. 
If any among you are found encouraging dissension or 
engaged in plots, we pray you all be zealous in aiding 
Eriksson to bring them to destruction." Along with 
this letter Gustavus sent one to the burghers in the 
town of Kalmar. It appears they had protested against 
the taxes imposed on them by Mehlen. There can be 
little doubt these taxes were imposed by order of the 
king. As matters stood, however, it seemed poor policy 
to claim them. These are the monarch's words : " Some 



176 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

of your fellow-townsmen have let us understand that 
taxes have been laid on you for which you are in no 
wise liable. We have already written you that you 
are to be free therefrom ; but that letter, we now are 
told, has never reached you. God knows we grieve ex- 
tremely that any such burden should have been imposed 
against our wish and orders, and we hereby notify you 
that we shall not claim these taxes laid on you by 
Mehlen." Simultaneously with this document others of 
like tenor were despatched to other persons to allay 
their wrath. 1 

These summary proceedings of Gustavus made Meh- 
len more ready to accept proposals from the other side ; 
and he was further impelled in that direction by recent 
plots among the Dalesmen. The insurrection under 
Sunnanvader, which the monarch had fancied he could 
extinguish by a generous supply of salt, had not yet 
yielded to the treatment. Indeed, according to the best 
reports, the malady had spread. How serious the insur- 
rection was, appears from the frequency of the mon- 
arch's exhortations. All through the winter he was 
writing to the people, condoling with them for the ex- 
orbitant price of food, and attributing all their evils to 
the continuance of wars in Europe. The Cabinet also 
addressed the Dalesmen, urging them not to ally them- 
selves with Sunnanvader, who was disgruntled, so they 
heard, because he had not been given the bishopric of 

1 Rensel, Berdttelse, pp. 42-43 ; Christ. II.' s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 
1520-1521 and 1527-1533 ; Handl. rbr. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 61- 
65 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. i. pp. 283-284 and 
vol. ii. pp. 7-9, 23-24 and 36-42. 



1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 177 

Vesteras. In one of his appeals Gustavus warned the 
rebels to be still, lest Christiern might be encouraged 
to return. The spectre of their gory tyrant seems not, 
however, to have haunted them, and in February we 
find that Knut, the deposed dean of Vester&s, had joined 
their ranks. To him Gustavus wrote a note, assuring 
him that the archbishopric would have been conferred 
upon him had he but done his duty. Knut, apparently, 
did no great benefit to his brother's cause. Only a few 
days after he arrived, his leader wrote archly to a per- 
son who had loaned him funds, that he could stay no 
longer in the land, for certain peasants were already 
on his track, intending to capture him and take him to 
the king. If these suspicions were correct, it was prob- 
ably as well for him that he escaped. Some two weeks 
later these two scoundrels were both in Norway, wait- 
ing for a more auspicious moment to return. 1 

Whether their movements were in any way inspired 
by Norby, is not clear. One thing, however, is very 
sure. Whomever Norby thought could be of service, he 
did not hesitate to use. In the previous summer, even 
while truckling with Fredrik, he had been in steady com- 
munication with Christiern, who was Fredrik's bitter 
foe. And now, though every one believed him to have 
broken with Fredrik, there was a story afloat that Fred- 
rik's hand was really behind the pirate's opposition to 
Gustavus. No one could place the slightest confidence 
in what he said. In January he started a rumor that 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s krdn., p. 86; Dipt. Dal, vol. ii. pp. 39-47; 
Handl. r'or, Skand. hist., vol. xxiii. pp. 28-34; and Kon. Gust, den 
Forstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 3-5, 10-12, 13-14 and 20-21. 

12 



178 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

he was ready to give up Gotland, provided the king 
would grant him a like domain in Finland ; but soon 
it turned out that the whole project was a ruse. In 
February he had so far befogged the intellect of Fredrik 
as to induce that monarch to request of Gustavus a 
full pardon for all of Norby's doings. It need scarce 
be added, this ridiculous proposal met with no success ; 
and Fredrik, almost as soon as it was sent, had cause to 
rue it, for Norby toward the close of winter sent an 
army into Bleking, — a province ceded to Fredrik by the 
Congress of Malmo, — and there spread ruin far and 
wide. 1 

The relations of Fredrik to Sweden at this juncture 
are very strange. Though nominally at peace, the two 
nations were utterly distrustful of each other, and at 
frequent intervals tried in secret to cut each other's 
throats. Their only bond of union was their common 
abhorrence of the tyrant Christiern ; and whenever Fred- 
rik fancied that danger averted, he spared no effort to 
humiliate his rival beyond the strait. One instance of 
his treachery was noticed in the comfort given to Knut 
and Sunnanvader when they fled to Norway. The treaty 
of Malmo had stated with sufficient clearness that all 
fugitives from one country to the other should be re- 
turned ; and Fredrik, as king of Norway, was bound 
to see to it that the treaty was observed. It cannot 
be stated positively that he encouraged the fugitives 
himself, but it is very certain that his officers in 

1 Christ. IL's arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1531-1532 ; Handl. ror. Skand. 
hist., vol. xiii. pp. 124-127 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., 
vol. ii. pp. 28-29. 



1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVLL WAR. 179 

Norway did, and that he made no effort to restrain 
them. 1 

The share Christina had in this conspiracy is like- 
wise doubtful. So early as February Gustavus suspected 
her, and ordered one of his officers to keep spies upon 
her track. As a result one of her servants was detected 
in treacherous proceedings and arrested. It appears, 
however, that she did not merit all the king's severity ; 
for Brask in April wrote a friend, that the monarch was 
treating her with undue harshness. She was widely 
popular, and Gustavus would have been more wise had his 
hostility to her been less open. " Nescit regnare qui nescit 
dissimulare," wrote the wily bishop. Christina was not, 
at any rate, on the best of terms with Mehlen, for her 
boy was kept in Kalmar till the castle passed from 
Mehlen's hands. 2 

This last result was not effected till a long time 
after Mehlen had been deposed. Before leaving Kalmar 
he had intrusted matters to his brother, with orders 
not to yield the castle to any but himself. As soon, 
therefore, as the new officer approached to take his fief, 
the reply was given him that the castle would not be 
yielded till Mehlen should return. After some three 
weeks spent in futile negotiation, Gustavus wrung from 
Mehlen a letter directed to his brother, instructing him 

1 Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1485-1486 ; Handl. ror. Skand. 
hist., vol. xxiii. pp. 65-67 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. ii. 
pp. 33-34, 46 and 49-50 ; and Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og 
Hist., vol. i. pp. 482-484. 

2 Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. p. 1530; Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. 
xiv. p. 64 and vol. xviii. pp. 269-270 and 276-277 ; and Kon. Gust, 
den Forstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 24-25. 



180 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

to yield. This the monarch sent to Kalmar, April 8, 
along with a letter of his own. Convinced that the 
whole delay on the part of Mehlen was to use up time, 
he instructed his messenger to warn the occupants that 
if the castle were not surrendered by the 1st of May, 
he would make them smart for it. In his letter, how- 
ever, Gustavus used more gentle language. " We have 
kept your brother here," he wrote, " in order to protect 
him from the populace, whose mouths are full of scan- 
dal about our relations to him. From you* letter it 
appears you thought we held him in confinement. . . . 
We are minded to treat him well and kindly, unless we 
shall be forced by you to treat him otherwise. We warn 
you, however, we shall deal with Kalmar in the way 
that we deem best, for the town and castle belong to 
God, to us, and to the Swedish crown. . . . Our counsel 
is that you obey our mandate, and the earlier you do 
so the better it will be for you." Accompanying this 
letter was a passport, similar to one drawn up for Meh- 
len, to take his brother from the realm. He was not, 
however, to be allured by passports or even terrified by 
threats. The castle continued firm, and Gustavus began 
to levy forces to besiege it. 1 

While these forces were being gathered, Gustavus 
renewed his efforts to gain favor through the land. 
This he soon discovered to be no easy task. Sur- 
rounded by conspirators on every hand, he could not 
turn without confronting some new rumor. Stories of 
the most contradictory nature were set afloat each day. 

1 Handl. r'or. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. p. 45 ; and Kon. Gust. de?i Forstes 
registrat., vol. ii. pp. 72-80, 91-93, 106-107 and 113. 



1524-25.] KELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 181 

At one time the report was spread through Dalarne 
that he had cast Christina into jail. After that it was 
rumored that he was sending despatches frequently to 
Gotland, from which some persons caught the notion he 
was in secret league with Norby. This notion was so 
baleful that Gustavus felt it best to answer it. "No 
one need think," he said, " we attach the slightest im- 
portance to anything that Norby says. As he asked 
us for a hearing, we have promised to let him have 
it. He used smooth words to us, and we have given 
him smooth answers in return. ... As to these slan- 
derous stories," continued Gustavus, in writing to an 
officer, " you are aware we cannot close men's mouths. 
We believe our actions toward our people will bear 
examination before both God and man." Such an ex- 
amination he proposed to make, and on the 25th of 
March he sent out notice of a general diet to be held 
in the early part of May. This notice contained among 
other things these startling words : " If it shall happen 
that the Cabinet and people then assembled believe the 
present evils are in any respect the outcome of our 
methods of government, we shall lay it before them to 
determine whether they wish us to continue in the gov- 
ernment or not. It was at their request and exhortation 
that we assumed the reins at Strengnas, and whatever 
their judgment now may be, it shall be followed." In 
addition to this notice, sent to all portions of the land, 
Gustavus wrote to the people of Mora that he had 
heard of a complaint from them that the kingdom was 
going to pieces and that he was causing it. He assured 
them that the rumor was untrue, and that he was doing 



182 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

all he could to hold the realm together. When these 
assurances reached Dalarne, the poor peasants of that 
district were already starving. Half mad with hunger, 
they called a mass meeting of their little parishes, and 
drew up a heart-rending though unfair statement of their 
wrongs. A copy of these grievances they despatched at 
once to Stockholm. It charged the king with appoint- 
ing German and Danish officers to the highest positions 
in the state, and with quartering foreign soldiers in the 
towns and villages till the inhabitants were constrained 
to flee. He had further, they asserted, laid taxes on the 
monasteries and churches, and on the priests and monks ; 
he had seized jewels consecrated to God's service; he 
had robbed the churches of all their Swedish money, and 
substituted " klippings," which he then had repudiated ; 
and he had seized the tithes. Finally they charged him 
with imprisoning Christina and her boy. The letter 
ended with a warning that unless he at once drove out 
all foreigners, released Christina with the others whom 
he had in prison, and took some measures to better 
trade, they would renounce allegiance to him. Gustavus 
received this document while the diet was in session. 
His answer to the people of Dalarne contained these 
words : " We cannot believe this letter was issued by 
your consent. Rather, we think, it was inspired by cer- 
tain wiseacres among you hoodwinked by Sunnanvader 
and the like. That the purpose of these men is to bring 
back Christiern we have definite proofs, not only within 
the kingdom but without. Ever since Sunnanvader went 
among you, letters and messengers have been passing 
between Dalarne and Norby, the meaning of all which 



1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 183 

is that Norby is to attack the government on one side 
and Dalarne on the other, and that we are to be dragged 
down from the throne, which is then to be handed over 
to Norby for the benefit of Christiern." This letter 
reflected in some degree the spirit of the diet. The 
main object for which it had been called was to spread 
an impression that the king was acting as representa- 
tive of his people. It was not asked to legislate, and it 
did not do so. Gustavus, however, went through the 
farce which he had promised, and asked the delegates if 
they wished him to resign the crown. Of course the 
answer was a shower of plaudits upon the king. As 
Gustavus modestly puts it, "The Cabinet and people 
over all the land besought us not to resign, but govern 
them hereafter as heretofore; and they promised obe- 
dience as in the past, swearing by hand and mouth to 
risk in our service their lives and everything they had." 
With this seductive ceremony the diet was dismissed. 1 

Ere the diet had come together, Norby had made a 
second irruption into Fredrik's territory in the south 
of Sweden. Toward the end of March he had sailed 
from Gotland with twelve men-of-war, had captured a 
couple of the strongest fortresses in Bleking, and had 
enlisted many inhabitants of that province in the cause 
of Christiern. Fredrik was by this time fully alive to 
the error he had made in relying for a moment on the 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 36-37 ; Christ. IVs arlciv, 
vol. iv. pp. 1482-1487 and 1496-1497; Dipt. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 50-51 
and 63-64 ; Handl. ror. SJcand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 41-44 and 60-61 and 
vol. xxiii. pp. 77-81 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 42- 
48, 52-57J and 110-118 ; and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. pp. 32-39. 



184 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

promises of Norby. His anxiety was increased still fur- 
ther when the news was brought him that Christiern's 
brother-in-law, the emperor, had defeated the king of 
France, and was coming with all his forces to the relief 
of Christiern. One drop of comfort was granted him 
when he heard that a fleet from Lubeck had sailed to 
Gotland in Norby's absence, and on May 13 had seized 
the town of Visby. In spite of this disaster, Norby's 
hopes ran high. He sent letters every day to Christiern, 
telling him that Denmark as well as Sweden was over- 
run with rebels, and that he now had a chance of res- 
toration such as he had never had before. But Norby's 
hopes were at the very highest when the bubble burst. 
The emperor proved too busy with his own affairs to 
send his army to the North, and Christiern could not 
raise the armament requisite for a foreign war. Gus- 
tavus, moreover, sent his troops to drive back the inva- 
der, and the Danish nobility enlisted in behalf of Fredrik. 
The result was that ere the close of May the pirate was 
routed in two important battles. Gustavus literally 
hugged himself for joy, and sent off a letter of congrat- 
ulation to the army that had won the day. " My good 
men," he began, " you may rest assured that if Norby 
shall escape you and come this way, he will meet with 
a reception that will cause him little joy. From his 
assertion that he expected aid from us, you will perceive 
he sought to foster discord between your realm and us. 
. . . We had already ordered our men in Vestergotland 
to go to your relief as soon as you should need them, 
which now, thank God, we trust will never be." The mon- 
arch's congratulation was a little premature. Norby's 






1524-25.] KELIGIOUS DISCOKD AND CIVIL WAR. 185 

force was scattered, but it was not lost. Retiring with his 
stragglers to one of the Danish strongholds, he ensconced 
himself within, and there remained, — a constant menace 
to the neighborhood. Late in June the pirate, reduced 
to the utmost extremity, opened negotiations with Fred- 
rik. That monarch, still in dread of Christiern, readily 
complied. Norby proceeded to Copenhagen, where it 
was finally arranged that he should yield the castle 
of Visby, which the Lubeck army had been besieging 
ever since the town of Visby fell ; and that in return 
the pirate should be granted the whole province of 
Bleking with all its strongholds, to hold as a fief of 
Denmark. Norby was then conveyed to Denmark, and 
before the first of August these terms were carried out. 
Visby passed into the hands of Lubeck, and the pirate 
returned to Bleking to guard his fief. 1 

Gustavus, it need scarce be said, was vexed. The 
congress which was to have been held in Lubeck to dis- 
cuss his claim to Gotland had been indefinitely post- 
poned. In place thereof, the island had been seized 
by Lubeck, and Bleking — another of the disputed ter- 
ritories — had been conferred upon a bitter foe. What 
most irritated him was the close proximity of Norby's 
fief to Sweden. He was at a loss, moreover, to under- 
stand the king of Denmark's motives. '* It may be," he 
suggested in a letter of July 9, " that Fredrik's purpose 

1 Diar. Minor. Tisbyens., p. 39 ; Rensel, Berattelse, p. 44 ; Svart, 
Gust. I.'s kron., pp. 83-84; Christ. Il.'sarkiv, vol. i. pp. 7-36; Handl. 
ror SJcand. hist., vol', xiv. pp. 55-57 and 72-73 ; and Kon. Gust, den 
Forstesregistrat., vol. ii. pp. 59-60, 89-93, 97-102, 119-120, 146-147, 
167-168 and 170. 



186 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

was to secure Gotland, and then deal with Norby as he 
pleased. However this may be, we must keep watch on 
every side." The same day he wrote to another person, 
" We are in no wise pleased to have Norby for a neigh- 
bor, since we have noticed that he always seeks to do 
us harm." Still, Gustavus believed in making a virtue 
of necessity, and a few days later wrote : " We are glad 
that hostilities between Fredrik and Norby are at an end, 
and that the kingdom is once more on the road to peace 
and quiet." 1 

This letter was written by Gustavus in his camp at 
Kalmar. The castle there was still in the hands of 
Mehlen's brother, though it had been under siege about 
two months. Early in June Gustavus, unwilling to shed 
more blood, had ordered Mehlen to proceed to Kalmar 
and bid the castle yield. The confidence with which 
the monarch even yet regarded Mehlen is astounding, 
and the issue proved at once the monarch's folly. On 
reaching Kalmar, Mehlen, after a conference with Eriks- 
son, was allowed to enter the castle to persuade his men 
to yield. The following day, the portcullis was lowered 
and Mehlen came out upon the bridge. But while he 
pretended to be crossing, a portion of the garrison dashed 
out of the castle and massacred a number of the people, 
all unsuspecting, in the town. The alarm was then given 
to the royal guard, and Mehlen's soldiers, finding them- 
selves outnumbered, retired across the bridge. Five 
days later, Mehlen, with his wife and brother, scaled the 
castle wall and sailed for Germany, leaving his wretched 
soldiers to withstand the siege. If ever there was a 
1 Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrants vol. ii. pp. 170-176. 



1524-25.] RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 187 

cowardly, bustling, impotent, insignificant adventurer, 
Berent von Meblen was that man. During his two 
years' stay in Sweden he had dabbled in every project 
that arose, and he had accomplished absolutely nothing. 
He had been the hero of a six months' bloodless siege, 
that left matters precisely as they had begun ; and he 
had set on foot a conspiracy that had no object and that 
ended in the air. It is a pleasure to dismiss him from 
our thoughts. His subsequent career in Germany was 
of a piece with his career in Sweden. He scurried about 
from one court to another, endeavoring to raise an army 
with which to conquer Sweden. But nothing came of 
any of his projects, and after a short period oblivion 
settled on his name. 1 

Gustavus now learned definitely that Xorby, ever since 
his fleet left Gotland, had been in secret conspiracy 
with Mehlen. He determined, therefore, that, since the 
pirate had gained a foothold on the mainland, Kalmar 
must be secured at any risk. So he collected men from 
every quarter and sent them down to Kalmar to rein- 
force the town. Some few weeks later, as the castle 
had not yielded, he proceeded to the town himself. 
The burghers, hoping the conflict would now be ended, 
welcomed him with joy. But the garrison still believed 
in Mehlen, and confidently awaited his return with aid. 
Gustavus sent an envoy to the castle, to persuade the 
garrison to yield. The answer was, the garrison would 
not be yielded till every one of them was dead. But 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 43-45 ; Svart, Gust. V* iron*, pp. S6-S9 ; 
Handl. for. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 61-65 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes 
registrat.y vol. ii. pp. 143-144 and 160-161. 



188 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VI. 

one course, therefore, was open to the monarch, — the 
castle must be stormed. This, with the guns which he 
possessed, demanded almost more than human strength. 
The castle was surrounded on all sides by a moat, be- 
yond which rose a perpendicular wall of masonry twenty 
feet in height. This rampart was washed on three 
sides by the sea, and on the other was protected by a 
broad deep dike and then an outer wall. From within, 
the rampart was guarded by eight huge towers that 
stood out from the castle-walls, and the four corners of 
the ramparts were further strengthened by four more 
towers with apertures for crossbows, cannon, and mus- 
kets. Such was the fortress that Gustavus, late in July, 
resolved to storm. He began by throwing up a line of 
earthworks, behind which he placed his heavy guns, 
hoping to batter down the towers and ramparts, while 
his pikemen and halberdiers were scaling the unpro- 
tected parts. But his men at first were lukewarm. 
The task seemed herculean, and every effort to ascend 
the ramparts met with certain death. Those in the 
castle fought like maniacs, the men with guns and cross- 
bows, and the women firing stones. Gustavus, it is re- 
ported, stormed and swore, and finally put on his armor, 
declaring that he would either have the castle or die 
within its walls. His enthusiasm spread among his 
men, and they shouted they would do their best, though 
every man of them should fall. The effect was visible 
at once. Each charge left the ramparts weaker than 
before; and when night closed in, there was not a lower 
or rampart whole. The next morning, when Gustavus 
turned his eulverins again upon the wall, the flag of 






1524-25.] KELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 189 

truce was raised. The garrison hoped that if they sued 
before the ramparts actually fell, they might be granted 
favorable terms. But the monarch, who had now lost 
nearly half his men, demanded an unconditional sur- 
render. As Norby had been conquered, and no signs of 
Mehlen's succor had appeared, the garrison, after much 
palaver, threw themselves upon the mercy of the king. 
The castle, on the 20th of July, passed into the mon- 
arch's hands once more, and a large portion of the rebel 
garrison was put to death. With this scene the con- 
spiracy of Norby, Mehlen. and their adherents was at 
an end. 1 

1 Rensel, Berattelse, pp. 45-47; Svart, Gust. Us Iron., pp. 89-92; 
HandL ror. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 72-73 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes 
registrat, vol. ii. pp. 143-146, 155-158, 160-165, 168-169, 181-183 
and 188. 



Chapter VII. 

DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 1525-1527. 

Negotiations between Fredrik and Gustavus. — Treachery of Norby. — 
Sunnanvader and the Cabinet of Norway. — Overthrow and Death 
of Norby. — Trial and Execution of Knut and Sunnanvader. — Debt 
to Lubeck. — Treaty with Russia; with the Netherlands. — Dalarne 
and the Lubeck Envoys. — Swedish Property in Denmark. — Province 
of Viken. — Refugees in Norway. 

THE Swedish Revolution was the work of three 
nations, all foes at heart, endeavoring to effect a 
common object on utterly divergent grounds. Gustavus 
wished to free his country from a tyrant's rule, while 
Fredrik's purpose was to gain the throne of Denmark, 
and Lubeck's was to crush her rival in the Baltic trade. 
Without the alliance of these three parties, it is not 
likely that any one of them could have gained his end. 
So long, therefore, as the common object was in view, 
each felt an assurance that the others would not fail. 
It was only when Christiern' s power was altogether 
gone that this triple alliance was dissolved. 

The varying hopes of Christiern may be gauged with 
singular accuracy by Fredrik's show of friendship to 
Gustavus. One cannot read the despatches sent from 
Denmark without observing a constant change of atti- 
tude ; tfhe monarch's feelings cooling somewhat as the 
chance that Christiern would recover Denmark grew 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 191 

more remote. At the moment when Norby returned to 
Bleking, the movements of Christiern caused the mon- 
arch much alarm, and his letters to Gustavus were 
filled with every assurance of good-will. This assu- 
rance, however, Gustavus took at little more than it was 
worth. So long as Knut and Sunnanvader were pro- 
tected by Fredrik's officers in Norway, the Danish mon- 
arch's assurances of friendship carried little weight. 
Gustavus seems not to have appealed to Fredrik in this 
matter till every effort to persuade the Danish officers 
in Norway had been tried. He wrote even to the Nor- 
wegian Cabinet, and begged them to keep the promises 
made to him in Malmo. While in the midst of these 
entreaties, a letter came from Fredrik asking for the 
release of certain prisoners, among them Norby's daugh- 
ter, whom Gustavus had captured in the war with Norby. 
This was the very opportunity which Gustavus craved. 
He wrote back that in the same war in which these 
prisoners had been taken, some guns belonging to him 
had been lost, and he offered to exchange the prisoners 
for the guns. He requested, further, that Fredrik com- 
mand his officers in Norway to yield the refugees. 
While this answer was on the road, Fredrik received 
a note from Norby, to whom Gustavus had written to 
say that Fredrik had promised that the guns should be 
returned. Fredrik, therefore, wrote Gustavus that these 
guns were not in his possession, but if the Danish pris- 
oners were surrendered, he would try to get them. 
When this letter came, the monarch was indignant. 
Fredrik, it was clear, was playing with him, and hoped 
to get the prisoners and give nothing in return. The 



192 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

answer which the monarch made was this : " We have 
just received your letter with excuses for the detention 
of our guns and ammunition, along with a request for 
the surrender of S(j)ren Brun, whom you assert we cap- 
tured in a time of truce. Of such a truce we wish to 
inform you we are ignorant. He was lawfully taken, 
inasmuch as he was one of Norby's men. ... As to 
our ammunition you say that it was captured from you 
and carried off to Gotland. If so, it was no fault of 
ours. We have written frequently about it, but have 
met with nothing but delays. If Norby, who you say 
has sworn allegiance to you, holds this ammunition in 
Visby Castle, it is unquestionably in your power to order 
that it be returned. So soon as this is done, the pris- 
oners shall be released. '' Before this determined letter 
arrived in Denmark, Fredrik had modified his plans, 
for news had come that Christiern's fleet was on the 
way to Norway, intending to winter there and make an 
incursion into Denmark in the spring. Fredrik, there- 
fore, despatched a note to Norby telling him to yield 
the ammunition, and wrote Gustavus that the guns were 
ready, and if he would send his officers to Denmark 
for them they should be delivered. A few days later 
an officer of Fredrik wrote Gustavus that property of 
Danish subjects had been seized in Sweden, and begged 
that the persons wronged be recompensed. To this 
Gustavus answered that Swedish subjects had been 
treated in the same way in Denmark, and promised to 
observe the treaty if the Danes would do so in return. 
He likewise wrote to Fredrik thanking him for his 
action relating to the guns, declaring that he would 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 193 

send for them as requested, and as soon as they were 
yielded would set the prisoners free. 1 

This amicable adjustment of their difficulty was on 
paper, but much more shuffling was required before it 
was reduced to fact. Gustavus feared that Fredrik was 
in league with Norby, and rumor had it that Norby 
was preparing for another war. Late in 1525, the pirate 
wrote the Swedish officer in Kalmar that he had come 
to terms with Fredrik, and that all the injury which he 
had done to Sweden had been forgiven. To this the 
officer replied : " I fail to see how Fredrik can have 
promised that you may keep our ammunition." Norby 
at all events did keep it, and early in 1526 Gustavus 
wrote : " We hear that Norby has let fall calumnies 
against us. We place no confidence whatever in him, 
especially as he is growing stronger every day. . . . 
From his own letters we discover he has no thought 
of giving up our ammunition." To Fredrik himself 
the monarch wrote : " From Norby's letters we learn 
he has no intention of obeying your commands." In 
the same strain Gustavus addressed the Danish Cabinet, 
and expressed the hope that Norby was not acting under 
their behest. If the Cabinet's assertion can be trusted, 
he was not ; for several of the Cabinet wrote Gustavus 
to keep an eye on Norby, as he was raising a large 
force in Bleking despite their orders to him to desist. 

1 Christ. IL's arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1510-1511, 1517-1588 and 1568- 
1575 ; Dipl. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 66-67 ; Handl. r'or. Skand. hist., vol. xxiii. 
pp. 60-65 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 169-170, 
187-188, 196-197, 204-206, 208-213, 218-219, 240-242, 252-257 
and 278-285 ; and Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist., vol. i. 
pp. 484-485. 

13 



194 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. Vn. 

There being little hope that Fredrik would force the 
pirate to obey, Gustavus ventured to arrange the matter 
for himself. It so happened at this moment that one 
of Norby's vessels, laden with arms and ammunition, 
stranded on the coast not far from Kalmar. The 
monarch's officers hurried to the spot, and seized what 
ammunition they could find. This stroke, however, was 
in some degree offset by a reprisal which Norby man- 
aged to secure upon the coast of Bleking. Matters 
now appeared so serious that the king addressed him- 
self to Norby. " We find," he said, " that a part of 
the ammunition taken from the wreck off Kalmar is 
our own. All the rest of it you may have, provided 
we are given the guns and ammunition promised us 
by Fredrik. ... As soon as these are handed over, 
your daughter and the other prisoners shall be freed." 
This proposition would have satisfied any man but 
Norby. To him it seemed unfair. The fleet of Chris* 
tiern was looked for early in the spring, and Norby 
thought by waiting to obtain more favorable terms. 
He wrote back, therefore, that, though Fredrik may 
have told Gustavus he should have his guns, he could 
not have them, for in the treaty recently drawn up 
between himself and Fredrik, it had been stipulated 
that all injury done by him to Sweden should be for- 
gotten, and a part of this injury consisted in the seizure 
of these guns. Norby closed his letter with an offer 
to hold a personal conference with the king. The reply 
which Norby had to this proposal was sharp and warm. 
" We shall permit no nonsense," wrote the king. If 
Norby wanted his daughter, let him return the guns. 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 195 

" As to a personal meeting with you, we cannot spare 
the time." Norby's pride apparently was not touched 
by this rebuke. He wrote again, simply repeating what 
he had said before, and in reply obtained another letter 
from the king. " We have already told you," wrote 
Gustavus, " that you may have your daughter when Ave 
get our guns. We were promised them by the treaty 
of Malmo, which we desire in every particular to ob- 
serve. And we will hand over the property belonging 
to you in the wreck off Kalmar, if you will forward to 
that town our ammunition together with a promise in 
writing never from this day forth to wrong us or our 
men." This letter, dated on the 4th of March, was the 
last communication that passed between the pirate and 
the king. Norby had at length discovered that he could 
not dupe the king, and Gustavus deemed it folly to 
continue parley with one whose only object was to use 
up time. 1 

Unable to accomplish anything with Norby, it was 
more than ever important that Gustavus should be on 
terms of amity with Fredrik. For the moment it ap- 
peared that Fredrik would be fair. At all events, he 
had made Gustavus a generous promise about the guns, 
and his Cabinet kept Gustavus constantly informed 
about the acts of Norby. In February, when the lakes 
were frozen, the monarch sent, as Fredrik had sug- 
gested, for his ammunition, and intrusted to the same 

1 Christ. IVs arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1576-1584, 1587-1591, 1593-1596 
and 1602-1605 ; and Kon. Gust, den F'drstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 2-3, 
13-15, 30-32, 38-39, 61-62, 78-80, 353-355, 364-365, 369-370 and 
375-376. 



196 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

emissary a letter for the Danish king. This letter was 
in reply to one from Fredrik, asking for the surrender 
of a Danish refugee. Gustavus could not comply with 
his request, for the refugee was gone ; but he seized 
again the opportunity to mention Sunnanvader. " We 
earnestly entreat you," were his words, " to write your 
Cabinet in Norway no longer to protect this man or any 
of his party." It was certainly time that something 
should be done by Fredrik, for at the very moment 
while Gustavus was writing this appeal, the Norwegian 
Cabinet were issuing a passport for the traitors through 
their realm ; and to a request from Gustavus for their 
surrender, the Cabinet offered the absurd excuse that 
the fugitives themselves protested they were innocent. 
" However," it was added, " the fugitives will return if 
they are given your assurance that they may be tried, 
as priests, before a spiritual tribunal." In this reply 
the reason for the detention of the fugitives leaked 
out. They were high in office in the Church, and the 
archbishop of Trondhem, with whom they had taken 
refuge, feared the Lutheran tendencies of the king. 
Fredrik did not wholly share this fear, and on the 4th 
of March for the first time addressed the archbishop, 
commanding him to revoke the passport of the rene- 
gades. This letter producing no immediate effect, Gus- 
tavus waited about six weeks, and then despatched to 
the Cabinet of Norway a safe-conduct for the renegades 
to be tried before "a proper tribunal," and, if adjudged 
not guilty, to return to Norway. The passport was 
directed to the Cabinet of southern Norway, to whom 
the monarch used these words : " We marvel much at 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 197 

the language of your northern brothers, and particularly 
that they are deceived by the treachery of these rascals, 
which is well known hundreds of miles from here, and 
might be known in Norway if the people were not 
blind. I might tell you how they lay a long while in 
Dalarne, and in the name of the people sent deceitful 
letters through the land, to stir up hostility against us. 
But as soon as the people began to leave them, and 
the Dalesmen announced that these letters were not 
issued with their consent, they betook themselves to 
Norway. ... If, now. the fugitives will come before a 
proper tribunal, we cannot and we would not refuse to 
let them do so. We therefore send a safe-conduct to 
guard them against all wrong, according to their re- 
quest. If they do not come, it will be manifest whether 
they are innocent." The safe-conduct, it may be well to 
say, ran only to the 10th of August following, and no 
notice apparently was taken of it till near the expira- 
tion of that time. 1 

Gustavus now devoted himself to the task of fighting 
Norby. The pirate had given the king of Denmark a 
written promise that he would do no injury to Sweden, 
but it was very soon apparent that this promise was 
not likely to be kept. By the end of January Norby's 
acts so far aroused suspicion that Gustavus ordered 
spies to enter Bleking and discover Norby's plans. No 

1 Christ. Wsarkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1585-1587 and 1589-1593; Dipt. 
Dal., vol. ii. pp. 82-83 and 89 ; Handl. ror. Sver. inre for hall., vol. i. 
pp. 23-25 ; Ron. Gust, den Forsles registrat., vol. iii. pp. 50-51, 55, 57- 
58, 59-60, 71, 367-369, 372, 373-374 and 381-381; and Sand, til det 
Norslce Folks Sprog og Hist., vol. i. pp. 485-486 and 488-495. 



198 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VH. 

very definite information, however, was obtained, prob- 
ably for the reason that Norby did not know his plans 
himself. He was waiting for intelligence from Chris- 
tiern. Late in March Gustavus fancied the pirate was 
preparing to depart for Norway. A few days after- 
wards, Brask wrote the monarch : " A report is spread 
that Norby has seized some seven or eight small craft 
and two large ships. I do not comprehend his pur- 
pose. Merchants just arrived from Denmark add that 
the Germans have handed Gotland over to the Danes, 
though on the other hand it is declared that Lubeck 
has sent a strong force of men and ammunition to the 
isle." The day following the writing of this letter, 
Gustavus despatched a note to Finland, with a warning 
to beware of Norby, for the news had reached him 
secretly that the pirate was about to make an incur- 
sion into Finland. This was followed, after a week's 
interval, by another letter announcing that Norby's fleet 
was lying at anchor, all ready to set sail. The mon- 
arch's apprehensions proved to be unfounded. Norby 
had important business nearer home. Christiern had not 
wintered in Norway, as some persons had supposed he 
would, but had continued his efforts to raise a force in 
Holland. His efforts had been attended with some 
measure of success, and early in May the Swedish Cab- 
inet had word that Christiern had despatched a force 
of seven or eight thousand men under Gustaf Trolle 
to make an attack on Denmark. While this fleet was 
believed to be under sail, the tortuous Norby wrote 
to Denmark that he was ready to sacrifice his life for 
Fredrik, and took the opportunity to charge Gusta- 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 199 

vus with every sort of crime. The expedition of Chris- 
tiern appears to have miscarried, but it so startled 
Fredrik that he hastened to rid himself of his doubtful 
ally, Norby. On pretence of wanting an escort for his 
daughter, about to sail for Prussia, he asked the pirate 
to come to Copenhagen. Norby, willing though he was 
to sacrifice his life for Fredrik, thought he scented bait. 
He could not go, he said, unless he did so in his own 
vessel attended by seven hundred of his men, and as an 
additional guaranty demanded at the outset that his men 
be paid. This was a little more than Fredrik could 
digest. His answer was a letter to Gustavus, declaring 
that the pirate was in constant communication with 
Christiern, and meantime spared no efforts to stir up 
discord between Gustavus and himself. He was now 
preparing with a fleet and body of seven hundred men 
to make an incursion into Sweden. Should this occur, 
Gustavus might rely upon the aid of Fredrik. For this 
generous assurance Gustavus in his answer thanked the 
king, and promised, in return, that if the pirate should 
make war on Denmark, Fredrik might count on him. 
Despite these mutual promises of fidelity, neither party 
relied much on the other. Gustavus, in a letter to his 
Cabinet in Finland, openly declared his discontent with 
Fredrik. However, a common danger kept the allies 
together, and early in August Gustavus sent a fleet to 
Kalmar Sound with orders to make an incursion into 
Bleking on the north, at the same moment that Fredrik's 
fleet was attacking Norby from the south. For some 
reason Fredrik did not hear of the Swedish movement 
till the day was won. On August 24 the Danish and 



200 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

Lubeck fleets were lying off the coast of Bleking, and, 
thinking that an attack would soon be made by land, 
bore down upon the fleet of Norby. It was an unequal 
contest, and the allied fleets were victorious. Seven of 
Norby' s vessels were captured, with four hundred of his 
men. The conquerors then entered Bleking, and placed 
the district once more under Danish rule. Norby him- 
self escaped across the Baltic Sea to Russia. There he 
expected to enlist the grand duke in a war against 
Gustavus. He found, however, that lie had mistaken 
the opinions of his host. The grand duke threw him 
into prison, where he remained two years. At the end 
of that time he was set at liberty by request of Charles 
V., under whose banner he then enlisted. After serving 
about a year, he was killed outside the walls of Florence, 
whither he had been sent with the emperor's forces to 
storm the town. "Such was the end," so runs the 
chronicle, " of one who in his palmy days had called 
himself a friend of God and an enemy to every man." a 

Meantime matters had progressed to some extent with 
Norway. On the 22d of July, the passport issued for 
the refugees having nearly expired without intimation 
that it would be used, Gustavus wrote to Fredrik : " Sun- 
nanvader and the other fugitives are still maintained with 

1 Svarfc, Gust. Us kron., pp. 84-85 ; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. i. 
pp. 1-144 and vol. iv. pp. 1584, 1606-1612, 1614-1626, 1633-1635, 
1639-1643 and 1646-1651; Handl. ror. SJcand. hist., vol. xv. pp. 5-7, 
19-24, 27-29 and 32-47 ; Handl. till upplysn. of Finl. hafd., vol. ii. 
p. 158; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 46, 97-98, 110- 
111, 117, 167-169, 170-172, 188-190, 195-196, 199-200, 203-207, 
218-220, 250-251, 256-260, 380-381, 386-393, 394-404, 406-407, 
411-414 and 415-416 ; and Sver. traht., vol. iv. pp. 104-105. 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 201 

honor in Norway, and are continually plotting new re- 
volt. They receive especial favor from the archbishop 
of Trondhem, who is said to have appointed one of them 
his deacon. We have written frequently about them to 
the Cabinet of Norway, but the more we write the more 
honor they receive." This charge was proved by sub- 
sequent events to be a trifle hasty. Scarce had the 
letter been despatched when Knut, who was probably 
the least guilty of the two conspirators, arrived. He 
came by order of the archbishop of Trondhem, and 
along with him came a letter from the archbishop, de- 
claring that, as the king had promised the fugitives they 
should be tried by prelates of the Church, one of them 
was surrendered. Sunnanvader would likewise have 
been handed over but that he was ill. The arch- 
bishop closed by urging Gustavus to show mercy. It 
is to be noted that the king had never promised that 
the tribunal should consist of prelates. What he had 
said was that they should be tried before a " proper 
tribunal." Doubtless it was customary that priests 
should not be tried by laymen, but the practice was not 
invariably followed, and the language of the passport 
was enough to throw the conspirators on their guard. 
In a case of conspiracy against the crown, the Swedish 
Cabinet would seem to be a proper tribunal, and as a 
matter of fact it was before the Cabinet that this case 
was tried. The Cabinet consisted of the archbishop of 
Upsala, three bishops, and eight laymen. Their decree 
was, in the first place, that the passport did not protect 
Knut from trial, and secondly, that he was guilty of 
conspiracy against the crown. The decree was dated 



202 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

August 9. On that very day the king of Denmark 
wrote Gustavus that he had ordered the archbishop of 
Trondhem to give no shelter to the traitors, and added : 
" We are told that you are ready to promise them a trial 
before yourself and the Swedish Cabinet, after which 
they shall be permitted to go free." Gustavus had never 
promised that they should go free, and it was prepos- 
terous for anybody to expect it. The only object of the 
trial was to give the traitors an opportunity to prove 
their innocence, and if they failed to do so, it was only 
fair that they should suffer. As soon as the decree was 
signed, Gustavus wrote the archbishop of Trondhem that 
Knut had been found guilty, but that his life should be 
spared to satisfy the archbishop, at any rate until Gus- 
tavus could learn what the archbishop proposed to do 
with the other refugees. A similar letter was sent also 
by the Cabinet, declaring that " many serious charges 
were made against Knut, which he was in no way able 
to disprove." One of the Cabinet members, who had 
been asked by the archbishop to intercede for Knut, 
wrote back : " His crime is so enormous and so clearly 
proved by his own handwriting, that there is no hope for 
him unless by the grace of God or through your inter- 
cession." Even Brask wrote : " He has won the king's 
ill-favor in many ways, for which he can offer no de- 
fence." Against such a pressure of public opinion the 
archbishop of Trondhem dared no longer stand, and on 
the 22d of September despatched Sunnanvader to the 
king, adding, with the mendacity of a child, that he had 
detained him in Norway only in order that he might 
not flee. Gustavus, with grim humor, thanked him for 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 203 

his solicitude, and begged him now to return all other 
refugees. Sunnanvader was kept in jail till the 18th of 
February, 1527. He was then brought before a tribunal 
consisting of the entire Chapter of Upsala, two bishops, 
and a number of laymen. The king produced some 
sixty letters written by the traitor, establishing his con- 
spiracy beyond the shadow of a doubt. He was con- 
demned at once, and executed the same day outside the 
Upsala walls. Three days later, his accomplice, Knut, 
was similarly put to death in Stockholm. Thus ended a 
conspiracy which had cost the monarch infinite annoy- 
ance, and which during a period of three years had been 
a constant menace to the realm. 1 

What most annoyed the king at this time was the 
importunate demands of Lubeck. Ever since Gotland, 
in the summer of 1525, had fallen into the hands of 
Lubeck, Gustavus had appreciated the necessity of keep- 
ing the Hanseatic town in check. So early as August of 
that year the monarch wrote Laurentius Andrea? : " You 
have advised us to cling to Lubeck and place no confi- 
dence in the Danes, since they have always played us false. 
We are not sure, however, that even Lubeck can be 
trusted, for we have no certainty what she has in mind, 
especially as she is sheltering in Gotland that outspoken 
traitor, Mehlen." The Swedish envoys, who had arrived 

1 Svart, Gust, l.'s kro'n., pp. 112-114 ; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iii. 
pp. 1075-1083, and vol. iv. pp. 1627-1628 ; Dipt. Dal, vol. ii. p. 92, 
and vol. iii. pp. 30-32 ; Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xvi. pp. 18-20 ; 
Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 207-208, 220-224, 326- 
327, 405-406, 408-410 and 419, and vol. iv. pp. Gl-62 ; Saml til det 
Norske Folks Sprog og Hist., vol. i. pp. 496-513; and Skrift. och handl, 
vol. ii. pp. 267-268 and 270-271. 



204 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VTI. 

in Lubeck too late to meet the Danes, as had been agreed 
in Malmo, seem to have reached no terms with Lubeck, 
and, when they returned to Sweden in September, Got- 
land was in Lubeck's hands, and Lubeck had announced 
her purpose of defending Mehlen. Her strongest hold 
on Sweden lay in the fact that Sweden was still her 
debtor in a very large amount. Early in 1526 this bur- 
den had become so great that the Cabinet passed an act 
decreeing that two thirds of all the tithes accrued for 
the year just ended should be surrendered by the Church 
to meet the nation's debt. The announcement of this 
levy made Lubeck for the moment more importunate than 
before. Believing that the money would soon be pour- 
ing in, she kept her envoys constantly dogging the mon- 
arch's steps, and in the month of April Gustavus wrote : 
" Our creditors will scarce permit us to leave the castle- 
gate." They were, therefore, as greatly disappointed as 
Gustavus when the money did not come. In June Gus- 
tavus wrote that he had got together ten thousand marks, 
— a mere nothing, — and that Lubeck had written to de- 
mand immediate payment of the whole. " Her envoys 
have now closed our doors so tight that it is hardly 
possible for us to go out." It was clear that some new 
scheme must be devised, and on the 23d of June the 
king applied to certain members of his Cabinet. " We 
have now," he wrote, " as frequently before, had letters 
from Lubeck demanding in curt language the payment 
of her debt. You are aware that we have often, espe- 
cially in Cabinet meetings, asked you to suggest some 
mode of meeting this requirement, and have never yet 
been able to elicit any tangible response. Indeed, you 






1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOKEIGN POWEES. 205 

have not had the matter much at heart, but have rather 
left it to be arranged by us. You have, it is true, sug- 
gested that the tithes be used, but we find that, though 
we much relied upon them, they are but a tittle. Our 
entire taxes for last year, including iron, skins, butter, 
salmon, amounted to somewhat over ten thousand 
marks. This sum, which would naturally be used to 
pay the expenses of our court, has been handed over 
to pay the debt. The tithes received, which we were 
assured would be a considerable sum, are shown by our 
books not to have exceeded two thousand marks in all. 
The treasury balance has now run so low that we have 
but a trifle left, and our soldiers, who are now much 
needed to keep off Christiern and Norby, must be paid. 
We therefore beg you take this matter seriously to heart, 
and devise some means by which the debt may soon be 
paid. ... It is utterly impossible from the taxes alone 
to keep an army and pay this heavy debt, for the taxes 
are no greater than they were some years ago, though 
the expenses are very much increased ; and, moreover, 
we have no mines to turn to, as our fathers had." This 
urgent appeal inspired the Cabinet to act, and at a meet- 
ing held in August they provided that a new tax be laid 
on every subject in the realm. In the table that accom- 
panied this Act, the amounts to be contributed by the 
different provinces were accurately fixed, as well as the 
amounts to be collected in the towns. The bishops, too, 
were called upon to furnish each his quota, based upon 
an estimate of his means : the archbishop of Upsala 
paying four thousand marks, the bishop of Abo three 
thousand marks, Linkoping two thousand five hundred 



206 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

marks, Skara and Strengnas each two thousand marks, 
Vesteras one thousand marks, and Vexio five hundred 

o 

marks. The amount imposed on Abo seems unreason- 
ably large, which is probably to be accounted for by the 
fact that Abo was not present at the meeting. Brask, 

o 

in writing to Abo, told the bishop that his quota was 
three thousand marks, but did not name to him the 
individual amounts to be contributed by the other bish- 
ops. Gustavus, in a letter to the members of his Cabi- 
net in Finland, was even more unfair. He told them 
that Abo was to pay three thousand marks, and added 
that Linkoping and Skara were to pay the same. Brask's 
letter is particularly important in that it puts the bal- 
ance of the debt to Lubeck at forty-five thousand Lubeck 
marks, equivalent to ninety thousand Swedish marks, 
of which amount the archbishop and bishops were ex- 
pected to raise fifteen thousand marks. Brask, with his 
usual shrewdness, urged the king to pay the debt that 
autumn, and thus get rid of Lubeck before the winter 
came. Gustavus doubtless shared with him this view, 
but there were several grave difficulties in the way. 
Early in October the monarch held a conference with 
the Lubeck envoys, and found the balance, as they fig- 
ured it, to be larger than he had supposed. Moreover, 
the peasants in the north of Sweden declared they could 
not spare the funds, and urged Gustavus to postpone the 
levy till a more convenient time. So that at the close 
of 1526 the Lubeck envoys were still clamoring for their 
pay. 1 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 42-56; Christ. II. 1 J 
arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1492 and 1613 ; Dipl. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 79-80 and 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH EOKEIGN POWERS. 207 

The cramped position in which Gustavus was held by 
Lubeck made it of great importance that he should be 
on amicable terms with other powers. So early as 1523, 
he had sent ambassadors to Russia to ratify the treaty 
made by Sture. They had returned, however, with an- 
nouncement that the grand duke's envoys would come 
to Stockholm and arrange the terms. This promise had 
never been fulfilled. As soon, therefore, as opportunity 
was found, the monarch prepared to send ambassadors 
again. The person to whom the matter was intrusted 
was the monarch's brother-in-law, Johan von Hoya. In 
November, 1525, this officer, who had just returned from 
an expedition to Lubeck, set sail for Finland, where he 
already had been granted fiefs, with orders to determine 
whether or not it was desirable that the embassy should 
go. Considerable delay ensued because Gustavus was in 
want of funds. He thought that since the expedition 
would be mainly for the benefit of Finland, the cost of 
sending it should be borne by her. It was, therefore, 
not till May of 1526, when Russian depredations became 
unbearable in Finland, that an arrangement could be 
made. Envoys then were sent to Moscow, and pre- 
sented to the grand duke a letter from Gustavus under 
date of 20th of May. In this document the monarch 
stated that his envoys had once before been sent to 

81-82 ; Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 89-90, vol. xv. pp. 29-32, 
and vol. xvi. pp. 15-16; Handl. ror. Sver. inreforhall., vol. i. pp. 15- 
18 and 30-31 ; Handl. till upplysn. of Tint hafd., vol. ii. pp. 1S5-1S7 ; 
Kon. Gust, den Fdrstes registrat, vol. ii. pp. 190-191, 222-223 and 229- 
231, and vol. iii. pp. 15-16, 18-21, 32-34, 109-110, 122, 173-176, 179- 
181, 236-243, 248-249, 294-295, 308-309, 324-326 and 416-417; and 
Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. pp. 39-47. 



208 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

Moscow to ratify the treaty made with Sture, but for 
some reason had never reached the capital. Since then 
great injury had been done in Finland by Russian sub- 
jects. Gustavus desired, therefore, to renew the treaty, 
and begged the grand duke to recompense his subjects, 
and also to make known to him in what towns in Rus- 
sia his subjects would be allowed to trade. This letter 
appears to have been some months upon the road, for 
the grand duke's answer was not given till the 2d of 
September. In this answer he declared that the previ- 
ous embassy of Gustavus had held a conference with 
Russian envoys, and by them the treaty made with 
Sture had been ratified. Swedish merchants were al- 
lowed to trade in all the towns of Russia, and all 
wrongs done to Swedish subjects should be punished 
and the persons injured recompensed. On the other 
hand, he should expect Gustavus to punish his own 
subjects for wrongs which they had done in Russia, and 
all buildings by them erected on Russian soil must be 
torn down. While the Swedish envoys were returning 
with this letter, Norby reached the grand duke and 
complained that Swedes had injured Russian subjects 
in Lapland. The grand duke therefore ordered that 
Gustavus be notified of the complaint, and asked to 
punish the offenders if the charge were true. When 
the embassy returned to Sweden, and the monarch 
found they had not yet obtained the grand duke's seal, 
he resolved to go to Finland in the spring of 1527 and 
meet the Russian emissaries there. This plan, however, 
was given up for lack of funds, and the Russian emissa- 
ries were asked to meet the king in Stockholm. The 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 209 

offer was accepted, the emissaries came, and after an 
elaborate exchange of costly presents, both parties 
signed a ratification of the treaty made for seventy 
years with Sture. The ratification was dated on the 
26th of May. 1 

The main reason why G-ustavus dreaded a rupture 
between himself and Lubeck was that it would cause 
great injury to his commerce. Immediately after his 
election in 1523, the monarch in a moment of enthusi- 
asm had conferred on Lubeck, Dantzic, and their allies 
a perpetual monopoly of Swedish trade. In an earlier 
century, when these so-called Yend Cities controlled the 
Baltic trade, Lubeck would have claimed the monopoly 
even without a grant. But another branch of the Hanse 
Towns had ere this grown up in Holland, with a power 
so formidable that the Yend Cities dared not assert their 
claim. So long, however, as the privileges granted Lu- 
beck were unrepealed, the Dutch Towns were reluctant 
to incur her enmity by sending ships to Sweden. The 
result was that practically all imports came from Lu- 
beck, and when relations between that city and Gustavus 
became a trifle strained, great difficulty was experienced 
in obtaining food. To remedy this evil, the envoys sent 
to Lubeck in 1525, finding themselves too late for the 

1 Christ. II.' s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1548-1553 ; Handl. for. Skand. 
hist., vol. xvi. pp. 107-113 ; Handl. til uplysn. af Svenska hist., vol. i. 
pp. 121-123; Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. hdfd., vol. ii. pp. 151-153, 
156-157, 161-183, 193-195, 201-205 and 207-209, and vol. viii. pp. 
14-18 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 51-52, 225-226 
and 242-244, vol. iii. pp. 132-135, 141-155, 287-288 and 429-430, and 
vol. iv. pp. 127-129, 147-148, 152-153, 196-198 and 411-413; and 
Sver. trakt., vol. iv. pp. 74-89. 

14 



210 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

congress with the Danes, entered into negotiations with 
the Dutch envoys that happened to be there. They 
found at once that Holland wished to trade in Sweden, 
and was ready to do so if the terms could be arranged. 
As a provisional measure, the ambassadors on both 
sides promised, August 17, that the two nations should 
remain at peace during the next three years, and before 
the end of that time another congress should be held 
to make a more systematic treaty. It was agreed fur- 
ther that in the coming autumn a consignment of salt 
and other wares should be forwarded by the Dutch to 
Sweden. Apparently this consignment did not come 
till the spring of 1526, but both parties were eager to 
arrange a treaty, and it was agreed that a congress for 
this purpose should be held in Bremen, May 20, 1526. 
This congress was afterwards postponed, though the 
Swedish envoy brought a ratification of the former treaty 
signed by Gustavus under date of May 12, 1526, and 
promised further that salt should be admitted into 
Sweden free. A similar ratification was signed by 
Charles V., Sept. 19, 1526. This accomplished, Holland 
opened negotiations with Sweden to the end that all 
articles of commerce be placed upon the free-list along 
with salt ; and she requested further that all the Swe- 
dish harbors be open to her ships. So ambitious a 
proposal terrified Gustavus. He would have been re- 
joiced to grant it, but he feared by doing so to irritate 
Lubeck. It is somewhat amusing to trace the steps by 
which he convinced himself that such a course was 
right. Brask, as usual, was the first to question whether 
Lubeck would consent. On the 9th of December, 1526, 



1525-27.] DEALINGS VTTIB. FOREIGN POWERS. 211 

he wrote : " I advocate the treaty, but I doubt much 
whether Lubeck will not raise objections, for she has 
wished to have the Baltic to herself." A few days later 
Gustavus put out a feeler to his Cabinet in the south of 
Sweden. " So far as we know," he wrote with caution, 
" our relations with Lubeck and the Vend Cities do not 
forbid this treaty." By the spring of 1527 he had grown 
more confident of his position, and wrote as follows : 
" The provisional arrangement made with Holland has 
proved greatly to our advantage. We now desire to 
make a perpetual treaty with her before Whitsunday 
next, and for this purpose recommend that Olaus Magni 
be sent at once to Amsterdam." Two weeks after this 
he added : " The privileges which the German cities 
wrung from us in Strengnas are so grinding that we can 
no longer adhere to them in all their points." On the 
22d of April the monarch had so far removed his doubts 
as to commission Magni to negotiate the treaty, and 
he intrusted him with a written promise over the royal 
signature and seal, conferring on Holland, Brabant, Zea- 
land, and East and West Friesland the right to enter all 
the Swedish rivers and harbors, on payment of the cus- 
tomary duties. It is noticeable that in this document 
Gustavus did not remit the duties, as had been desired, 
nor even promise that salt should be admitted free ; and 
in the letter to his envoy the diplomatic monarch used 
these words : " Do not be too liberal, especially in the 
matter of duties. If they really insist upon free-trade, 
you must discreetly avoid promising it, and suggest that 
probably the privilege will be granted them as a favor." 
Brask, who feared lest these negotiations might cause 



212 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

trouble, hastened to throw a favorable light upon his 
own position. u You will remember," he wrote his 
fellow-counsellors, " that I opposed the grant of these 
great privileges to Lubeck, believing them injurious to 
the welfare of our people." Magni, in conformity with 
the king's injunctions, proceeded to the town of Ghent, 
where he was given an audience of Margaret, regent of 
the Netherlands. As soon as the letters of May 12, 
1526, and April 18, 1527, were translated for her, she 
raised a number of objections, chief of which were that 
the latter letter did not provide that salt should be 
admitted free, and did not seem to open to her vessels 
all the Swedish ports. To these objections Magni an- 
swered that certain harbors were made ports of entry 
out of convenience to Gustavus, and as to duties, Magni 
seems to have assured her that they would probably be 
taken off. After more palaver, Margaret signed a docu- 
ment accepting the offer assumed to have been made by 
Sweden ; namely, that vessels of the emperor might enter 
all the rivers and harbors of Sweden, paying only the 
same duties that were paid by Swedish subjects, salt, 
however, to be admitted free. She expressed a hope, 
moreover, that other articles might be exempt from duty 
too. To this document she attached her seal, July 
29, 1527. 1 

1 Christ. II.' 's arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1491-1492; Dipt. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 
90-91 and 115-116 ; Handl. rbr. Skand. hist., vol. i. pp. 1-35 and 
vol. xvi. pp. 45-52 and 124-127; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., 
vol. ii. pp. 201-204, 206-207, 227-228 and 262-265, vol. iii. pp. 51- 
52, 111-112, 119-121, 308-309, 335-336 and 421-424, and vol. iv. 
pp. 101-103, 113-116, 143-145, 413-414, 419-420 and 428-432; Lin- 
koping, Bibliotheks handl., vol. i. pp. 193-199 ; and Sver. trakt., vol. 
iv. pp. 106-124. 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 213 

It is particularly to be noted that Lubeck did not raise 
her voice against the treaty. A probable solution is that 
she wished beyond all else to secure her money, and felt 
that Sweden would be more able to meet the debt in 
case she were allowed to trade with Holland. All 
through the winter of 1527 Gustavus struggled to raise 
funds. Some portions of the country seem to have 
responded freely, but in Dalarne and other northern 
provinces it appeared likely that the levy would end in 
actual revolt. In January Gustavus warned the people 
that all responsibility in the matter lay with them. If 
Lubeck made war upon the kingdom, it would be because 
of their unwillingness to pay the debt. As a matter of 
fact, the Dalesmen had much reason for delay. The 
monarch, by his ill-judged privileges to Lubeck, had 
kept the country in a state of famine, from which it 
now was just beginning to emerge. Many of the people 
were utterly devoid of means, and the new levy seemed 
like wringing water from a stone. This in the course of 
time Gustavus learned, and in March he prudently sug- 
gested to his officers that the tax be modified in special 
cases. The Dalesmen, however, were not so easily to 
be appeased. Other causes of complaint were rife among 
them, and they formed a compact to the end that no tax 
should be paid until these grievances had been redressed. 
On the 2d of April Gustavus asserted that the Dalesmen 
had not contributed a cent. Brask. for reasons that will 
be manifest later on, was in sympathy with the people, 
and declared : " I fear danger, for the Dalesmen are 
reported to be incensed, and rightfully incensed, against 
the king. If it lay with me, I should remit a portion 






214 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII. 

of the tax rather than give occasion for this revolt." 
Gustavus, however, was still harassed by Lubeck, and 
dared not take this step. As there were several mat- 
ters to be straightened out in Dalarne, he summoned a 
general diet of the realm. The Dalesmen showing oppo- 
sition, Gustavus urged the people in the south of Sweden 
to persuade the people of Dalarne to come. " We should 
be glad," he urged, " if you would write to the people of 
Dalarne, and ask them to lay their complaints before 
the diet to be held in Vesteras. We shall there explain 
our conduct, and if our people are not satisfied, shall 
gladly resign the throne. The German envoys will be 
present, and the Dalesmen can then adopt some means 
to quiet their incessant demands." All efforts to per- 
suade the Dalesmen failed. They despatched a long list 
of their grievances to Stockholm, but they did not at- 
tend the diet. When the other delegates came together, 
Gustavus laid these grievances before them. The Dales- 
men had complained, he said, that they were burdened 
with heavy taxes. If they had been more obedient, a 
smaller army would have been sufficient, and the taxes 
would not have been so heavy. He told them, further, 
that the whole debt occasioned by the war amounted to 
about one hundred thousand marks, of which sum a large 
portion was still unpaid. 1 The outcome of the matter 
was that the delegates voted to quell the insurrection in 
Dalarne, and if enough money could not now be raised 
to pay the debt, to levy further taxes. These stringent 
measures were not, however, put into effect at once. 

1 This was clearly a misstatement. It has been already shown 
(p. 121) that in 1523 Gustavus put the debt at over 300,000 marks. 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 215 

Gustavus was busy, in the autumn of 1527, with other 
things ; and furthermore a dispute had arisen between 
himself and Lubeck as to the exact total of the debt. 
The year closed, therefore, with the debt still hanging- 
over Sweden's head. The Lubeck envoys accepted all 
the goods and money they could get, the whole amount 
thus paid in 1527 being in the neighborhood of 22,800 
Swedish marks. 1 

All through this period Gustavus was in constant ne- 
gotiation with Fredrik. Christiern's efforts to recover 
the crown had been brought to a halt by the sudden 
collapse of Norby, and Fredrik had assumed in conse- 
quence a more aggressive attitude toward Sweden. By 
the treaty signed at Malmo each monarch promised to 
protect the interests which citizens of the other held 
within his realm. But the ink was scarcely dry when 
complaints were heard that Fredrik had failed to sub- 
stantiate this clause. The most flagrant breach occurred 
in the case of property owned in Denmark by Margaret, 
sister of the king of Sweden. So great difficulty was 
experienced by Margaret in protecting this estate, that 
early in 1526 the monarch counselled her to sell it. He 
wrote also to certain Danish officers, and begged them 
to defend her rights. These exhortations proving futile, 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 60-61 ; Dipl. Dal., vol. ii. 
pp. 97, 99-101, 105-109 and 115-116 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes regis- 
trot., vol. iv. pp. 0-7, 22-23, 64-65, 66-67, 83-85, 95-96, 102-103, 
113-117, 131-132, 163-165, 170, 206-207, 257-259, 333-334, 419-420 
and 445-446 ; and the documents cited in Handelmann's Die letzten Zeiten 
dcr hanseatischen Uebermacht im Korden, p. 170. The question of the 
Lubeck debt is ably treated by Forssell in his Seer, hire hist., vol. i. pp. 
134-138. 



216 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VII 

Margaret sent her agent to the spot to see what he 
could do. This only irritated the natives, and they fell 
upon the agent with their fists. It was reported, too, 
that the deed was ordered by an officer of Fredrik. At 
all events, the agent was given no redress, and Gusta- 
vus, after urging Margaret's husband to appeal to Fred- 
rik, wrote finally to the Danish king himself. He laid 
the whole affair before him, and declaring that he had 
ever upheld the rights of Danes in Sweden, urged Fred- 
rik to investigate the matter and punish those by whom 
the violence had been committed. With this request 
the Danish monarch promised to comply ; and as we find 
no further mention of the case, it is probable the quarrel 
was adjusted and the rights of Margaret maintained. 1 

Another dispute originating in the Malmo treaty con- 
cerned the province of Yiken, which lay along the 
Swedish frontier in the southeast part of Norway. 
This province had joined Gustavus in the war with 
Christiern, and after the war was over had continued 
under Swedish rule. In course of time, however, the 
inhabitants grew eager to return once more to Nor- 
way. With a view to satisfy their longing, Gusta- 
vus allowed them, early in 1526, to be governed by 
Norwegian law and custom. Possibly this would have 
appeased the natives, but Fredrik was desirous for 
more. He thought that Yiken, being originally a prov- 
ince of Norway, should be ruled by him. He therefore 
wrote Gustavus, and begged a conference to settle their 

1 Christ. IV s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1666-1668; and Kon. Gust, den 
Forstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 41, 57-58, 65, 76-78 and 291-292, and 
vol. iv. pp. 48-49, 68-70 and 426-427. 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 217 

respective claims. Gustavus. defrauded of his rights in 
Gotland, answered that he would gladly hold a confer- 
ence to settle all matters of dispute between them. 
Fredrik waited nearly six months before making his 
reply. He then informed Gustavus that the Danish 
envoys had appeared in Lubeck at the day fixed for the 
conference, but that nothing was accomplished simply 
because the Swedish envoys did not come. He there- 
fore urged Gustavus to name a time and place at which 
the question of Viken should be settled. The Swedish 
monarch had learned by sad experience that a conference 
with Denmark meant no benefit to him. He answered 
that his envoys had been sent to Lubeck. as agreed, but 
had failed through stress of weather to reach the place 
of meeting on the day arranged. Gustavus appears not 
to have cared particularly to retain the province, though 
he was not willing to yield it without obtaining some- 
thing in return. He saw no reason why Viken should 
be given up to Fredrik unless Gotland should be given 
up to him. In answer, therefore, to repeated solicita- 
tions, he declared his readiness to meet the Danish king 
half-way ; he would treat with him concerning Viken, 
but at the same time some definite conclusion must be 
reached about the isle of Gotland. When negotiations 
had reached this point, they were interrupted for the 
moment by a new dispute. 1 

1 Christ. Wsarkiv, vol. iv. 1623-1626, 1662-1664, 1669-1670 and 
1671-1076; Kon. Gust, den V ^gistrat., vol. iii. pp. 47-4S and 

7. and vol. iv. pp. 45-47, 66-67, 102-103, 113-117. 281 
377-3S2, 39S-399, and 439-110; and Saml. til det Norste Fulks Sprog 
og Hist., vol. i. pp. 32S-336. 



218 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. Thap. VII. 

Ever since the fall of Kalmar, Christina's boy had 
been in Stockholm, under the surveillance of the king. 
Gustavus for some reason had never liked the boy, and 
in April, 1527, he sent him to his mother with a repri- 
mand, at the same time urging that he be placed for a 
period under the quiet influence of some rural town. 
This incident was the signal for another conspiracy 
against the crown. This time the aspirant was a gay 
young hostler, who conceived the desperate project of 
posing as the regent's son. Relying on his own auda- 
city and on the perennial state of insurrection in the 
north of Sweden, he went to Dalarne with the story that 
he had escaped the clutches of Gustavus. whose orders 
were that he be put to death. He then proceeded from 
one village to another, extolling the virtues of the young 
Sten Sture, and urging the people, since they had sworn 
allegiance to his father, to do the same to him. The 
support which he received was small. One or two villa- 
ges were at first deceived, but the majority of them 
told him flatly that he lied. He therefore followed the 
course of earlier impostors, and betook himself to Nor- 
way. Approaching first the archbishop of Trondhem, 
he told his story and awoke the archbishop's interest by 
announcing that Gustavus had fallen from the faith. It 
being bruited that certain of the church dignitaries were 
on terms of friendship with this impostor, the arch- 
bishop received him kindly, and though he refused to 
give him shelter, promised he would take no steps to 
harm him. Gustavus then addressed the archbishop 
and the Cabinet of Norway, urging that the traitor be 
returned. He pointed out, moreover, that, Sten Sture 



1525-27.] DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 219 

having been married only fourteen years before, it was 
impossible that this traitor was his son. This argument 
producing no effect, Gustavus prevailed upon Fredrik's 
emissaries, then in Stockholm, to join him in his appeal. 
An answer then came back from the archbishop of 
Trondhem that he had refused to shelter the impostor, 
though he had promised that he would not harm him. 
Since then a letter had arrived from Dalarne saying 
that the Swedish king was dead. The impostor had 
therefore collected a band of refugees in Norway, and 
was now once more in Sweden. With this mendacious 
explanation Gustavus was forced to be content. The 
fraud had been discovered, and by the close of 1527 the 
insurrection in Dalarne was practically at an end. 1 

1 Svart, Gust. L's kron., pp. 104-112 ; Dipt. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 115- 
116 ; Handl. r'dr. Skand. hist., vol. xvi. pp. 124-127 ; Kon. Gust, den 
Forstes registrat., vol. iv. pp. 120, 348-349, 350-354, 415, 419-420, 
438-439, 441-442 and 443-445 ; and Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog 
og Hist., vol. i. pp. 518-528. 



Chapter VIII. 

INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 1525-1527. 

Nature of the Period. — Translation of the Bible. — Quarrel between the 
King and Brask. — Opposition to the Monasteries. — High-handed 
Measures of the King. — Second Disputation between Petri and Galle. 
— Opposition to Luther's Teaching. — Banishment of Magni. — Fur- 
ther Opposition to the Monasteries. — Revolt of the Dalesmen. — Diet 
of Vesteras. — " Vesteras Recess." — " Vesteras Ordinantia." — Fall of 
Brask ; his Flight ; his Character. 

IN most instances the stirring periods of a nation's 
history are not the periods in which the nation 
grows. Warfare, even though it end in victory, must 
be accompanied by loss, and the very achievements that 
arouse our ardor bring with them evils that long years 
of prosperity cannot efface. Take, as a single example, 
the dazzling victories of Charles XII. He was, beyond 
all doubt, the most successful general that Sweden ever 
had. One after another the provinces around the Baltic 
yielded to his sway, and at one time the Swedish fron- 
tiers had been extended into regions of which no man 
before his age had dreamt. Yet with what result ? 
Sweden was impoverished, commerce was at a standstill, 
education had been neglected, and the dominions for 
which his people had poured out their blood during 
many years were lost almost in a single day. His career 
shows, if it shows anything, that prosperity is incom- 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 221 

patible with war. No man can serve two masters. So 
long as nations are in active and continued warfare, they 
cannot enjoy the blessings or even the comforts that 
belong to them in time of peace. 

A like argument may be drawn from the reign of 
Gustavus Yasa. The early years of the Swedish Revo- 
lution were marked by bloodshed. The country was in 
a state of famine, superstition was universal, literature 
was almost without a champion, and art was practically 
dead. Not till the warfare ceased did people turn their 
thoughts to matters of education, of religion, or of other 
things that lend a charm to life ; and even then the 
country was hampered during a considerable period by 
poverty, — an outcome of the war. It is in this last 
period of the Revolution — a period of peace — that the 
chief work of Gustavus Yasa was accomplished. Then 
occurred the great changes in Church government and 
doctrine that made Lutherans out of Roman Catholics, 
and in place of accountability to the pope made every 
soul accountable to God. In the first few years of his 
supremacy the monarch's opposition to popery was based 
almost entirely on politics, but by the middle of 1525 
he began openly to oppose the Romish Church on grounds 
of faith. 

The heaviest blow to popery was the order issued 
by the king in 1525 that the Scriptures be translated \ 
into Swedish. This all-important measure resulted 
doubtless from the general dissension that had arisen 
about the Word of God. If, as Luther urged, the Scrip- 
tures were our sole criterion of faith, it was obviously 
proper that they should be published in a form which 



222 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

every one could understand. Luther had already three 
years before translated the Bible into German, but in 
Swedish the only effort at a translation was in a manu- 
script of several centuries before, which even Brask 
knew only by report. Gustavus, therefore, toward the 
middle of 1525, instructed Archbishop Magni to have a 
new translation made. His purpose, he affirmed, was 
not merely to instruct the people but to instruct the 
priests, for many of them were themselves incompetent 
to read the Latin version. As shepherds their duty was 
to feed Christ's flock with the Word of God ; and if 
they failed to do so, they were unworthy of their name. 
This reasoning the archbishop was unable to refute. He 
was himself disgusted with the ignorance of his clergy, 
and promised Gustavus that the translation should be 
made. Not wishing, however, to undertake too much, 
he devoted his attention wholly to the New Testament, 
dividing it into several parts and assigning the trans- 
lation of different parts to different men. Matthew and 
the Epistle to the Romans he took himself, Mark and 
the Epistles to the Corinthians were assigned to Brask, 
while Luke and the Epistle to the Galatians were given 
to the Chapter of Skara, and John and the Epistle to 
the Ephesians to the Chapter of Strengnas. The an- 
nouncement of this choice was made to Brask on the 
11th of June, and he was asked to forward his transla- 
tion to Upsala by September 10, when a congress of the 
translators should be held to arrange the various por- 
tions into one harmonious whole. This project was not 
received with favor by the crafty bishop. He felt it to 
be the knell of popery, and in writing to Peder Galle 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 223 

he inveighed against it. " We marvel much," he wrote, 
" that the archbishop should enter this labyrinth without 
consulting the prelates and chapters of the Church. 
Every one knows that translations into the vernacular 
have already given rise to frequent heresy. ... It is 
said the Bible is capable of four different interpreta- 
tions. Therefore it would imperil many souls were a 
mere literal translation made. Moreover, laymen can- 
not read the Bible even if it be translated, and the 
clergy can understand it quite as well in Latin as in 
Swedish. We fear that if this translation be published 
while the Lutheran heresy is raging, the heresy will 
become more pestilent, and, new error springing up, the 
Church will be accused of fostering it." This letter 
was dated on the 9th of August. Clearly Brask's share 
of the translation would not be ready by September 10. 
The fact was, Brask had no notion of furthering the 
scheme. At every opportunity he raised his voice 
against it, and the weight of his influence was such that 
finally the whole project was given up. The Lutherans, 
however, were not disheartened. Finding that nothing 
could be effected through the Church, they proceeded 
to make a translation of their own. This was published, 
though without the translators' names, in 1526. It did 
not, of course, receive the sanction of the archbishop, but 
it paved the way for new reforms by checking the Ro- 
man Catholics in their scholastic doctrine and by edu- 
cating the common people in the Word of God. 1 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s kr'on., pp. 101-102 ; Kon. Gust, den Fontes regis- 
trat., vol. ii. p. 138 ; and Handl. ror. Stand, hist., vol. xviii. pp. 295- 
303 and 315-316. 



224 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIH. 

Brask was now openly beneath the monarch's frown. 
The rupture between them was becoming every day 
more wide, and both parties gradually grew conscious 
it could not be healed. Brask had never forgiven the 
king for sanctioning the marriage of Olaus Petri. Some 
six months after the event he alluded to it in a letter 
to Peeler Galle. " I am much troubled," he declared, 
" that marriage is permitted to the clergy, and that no 
one cries out against it. I have urged the king that 
Petri be excommunicated for his act, that evil example 
may not spread, but have had only a half-hearted an- 
swer from his Majesty." While this wrong still rankled 
in the prelate's breast, his ire was further kindled by 
the monarch's evident intention to rob the Church of 
several of her chief estates. As an entering wedge 
Gustavus had pastured his soldiers' horses on the rich 
but fallow lands belonging to the monasteries, and in 
some cases the officers had been billeted in the monas- 
teries themselves. Against this practice Brask pro- 
tested, and received this soothing answer : " When you 
say that this mode of billeting cripples the service of 
God, you are right, provided his service consists in feed- 
ing a body of hypocrites sunk, many of them, in licen- 
tiousness, rather than in providing protection for the 
common people. As to your assertion that the monas- 
teries were not founded by the crown, and hence are not 
subject to our dominion, we will look into the matter, 
though our humble opinion is that the monasteries were 
originally bound to pay taxes to the crown." The argu- 
ment which the monarch strove to make was this : 
Those monasteries which were founded by individuals 






1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 225 

comprised estates held by the donors in consideration of 
military service to be rendered to the crown ; and so soon 
as the military service ended, the tenure by which the 
lands were held no longer existed, and the crown once 
more became entitled to the lands. It is difficult to feel 
that the monarch's view was right. In countries where 
there is no written law, all controversies must be deter- 
mined by the law of custom, and it is certain that for 
centuries Swedish subjects had been allowed to dedicate 
for religious purposes the property which they held by 
military tenure of the crown. With Gustavus it appears 
that custom was of little moment. The monasteries 
were wealthy, and could be encroached upon without 
directly injuring the people. He resolved, therefore, 
as soon as possible to confiscate their property, using a 
plausible argument if one was ready ; otherwise, to close 
their doors by force. 1 

In May, 1525, the king found pretext for interfering 
with the Dominican monks of Vesteras. That order 
numbered among its brothers a very large proportion of 
Norwegians ; and one of them had assumed the general- 
ship of the order in Sweden, contrary to the mandates 
of the king. This seemed an opportunity to play the 
patriot and at the same time secure a footing in the 
monastery. So Gustavus wrote to the Swedish vicar- 
general and declared : " We understand that the con- 
spiracy in Dalarne and other places is largely due to 

1 Handl. for. Skancl. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 48-53 and vol. xviii. pp. 300- 
303 ; Kon. Gust, den Fbrstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 83-86 ; Linkopiug, 
Bibliotheks handl., vol. i. pp. 179-183 ; and Shrift, och handl., vol. i. 
pp. 347-351. 

15 



226 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

this man and several of the Norwegian brothers. We 
have therefore appointed our subject Nils Andrea? to 
be prior of Vesteras, trusting that he will prove a friend 
to Sweden, by expelling the foreigners and preventing 
all such conspiracies in future. We beg you also . . . 
to punish all offenders among your brotherhood, that we 
be not forced to punish them ourselves." 1 

Later in the same year Gustavus asserted his claim 
with even more distinctness to the monastery of Grips- 
holm. That monastery, it will be remembered, was 
on the estate at one time belonging to the monarch's 
father. It therefore was a special object of his greed. 
At a meeting of the Cabinet he laid his case before 
them, and offered to abide by their decree. There was, 
of course, no question what their decree would be. The 
monastery was adjudged the property of the king, and 
all the inmates were instructed to withdraw. This 
judgment naturally caused an outcry in certain quar- 
ters. So Gustavus addressed the monks of Gripsholm 
with unctious promises, and under the mask of friend- 
ship obtained from them a written statement that they 
were satisfied of the justice of his claim. This docu- 
ment, a copy of which was filed among the royal papers, 
bears singular testimony to the meanness of the king. 
" Our title to Gripsholm Monastery," the wretched vic- 
tims wrote, " has been disputed, and, the matter being 
laid before the Cabinet, they have determined that Gus- 
tavus, as heir of the founder, is entitled to the premises. 

1 Dipt. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 62-63; Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xxiii. 
pp. 59-60; Handl. ror. Seer, inre for hall., vol. i. pp. 5-S ; and Kon. 
Gust, den Fbrstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 126-129. 









1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 227 

He has offered us another monastery in place of this, but 
we feared lest that too might some day prove to be the 
property of other heirs, and have requested permission 
to disband and retire each of us according to his own 
caprice. It has now been agreed that Gustavus shall 
provide us with the money and clothing which we need, 
and in return that he shall be entitled to the monastery 
together witty all the property that we have acquired." 
At the close of this affecting document the writers ex- 
pressed their gratitude to the monarch for his generos- 
ity. Armed with this evidence of his good intentions, 
Gustavus addressed the Dalesmen with a view to calm 
their wrath. "You are aware," he wrote with confi- 
dence, " that the elder Sten Sture, who was a brother of 
our father's mother, founded Gripsholm Monastery with 
property that would have descended by law to our 
father, and that Sten Sture induced our father to ap- 
pend his signature to the deed. The signature was 
obtained, however, only on condition that if the monas- 
tery should be unable to keep up its standing, Grips- 
holm and all its possessions should revert to the heirs. 
Hence we have good right to protest and to claim the 
inheritance of which our father was deprived by threats 
and fraud. Indeed, the good brothers have considered 
the matter well, and have agreed to withhold no longer 
property to which they have no right. We have there- 
fore offered them another monastery. . . . But they have 
not ventured to accept it, fearing to offend the brothers 
already occupying it. So they have asked permission to 
go back to their friends and to the posts which they 
held before entering the monastery. This, at the desire 



228 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

of our Cabinet, we have granted, since we are ever ready 
to listen to their counsel, and we have furnished the 
good brothers with clothing and money to aid them. 
We trust they will be grateful ; and to prove to you that 
such is the case, we enclose herewith an extract from 
the letter which they have written." As the deed con- 
veying Gripsholm to the brotherhood is lost, we cannot 
discuss with thoroughness the merits of the case. It is 
enough that the monarch's action accorded with the 
policy which he adopted later toward all the monas- 
teries in the land. The seizure of Gripsholm was justi- 
fied, at any rate, by a show of right. Of later cases it is 
difficult to say even this. The Gripsholm Monastery 
had not been closed six months when Gustavus claimed 
another monastery, this time in the diocese of Brask. 
The abbot it appears had died, and Brask was busy 
making a list of the monastery's property, that nothing 
should be lost. Gustavus wrote to Brask with orders to 
leave the place alone. " Your fathers," he added, " did 
not found the monastery ; and even though your prede- 
cessors in the bishopric may have founded it, they did 
so with money belonging to the people. . . . We intend, 
therefore, to take charge of it ourselves." To these im- 
perative orders the wearied bishop answered: "I feel 
a special obligation to this monastery, since it was 
founded by the yearly incomes of the bishopric." This 
assertion, however, proved of no avail. Within a year 
the monastery was yielded to the crown, and one of the 
monarch's officers took the entire property in fee. 1 

1 Dipt. Dal, vol. ii. pp. 86-88 ; Handl. ror. S/cand. htet., vol. xv. pp. 
14-17 and vol. xv. pp. 15-16 ; Handl. ror. Seer, inre forhdll., vol. i. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 229 

All things apparently conspired to bring the aged 
bishop to the dust. The seizure of his monastery oc- 
curred at a moment when he was in deep distress about 
the newly levied tax. Early in 1525 Gustavus had 
written him to surrender all the tithes accruing in his 
diocese for the year last past ; and following close upon 
this order, the royal stewards had deprived him of a 
right of fishery which he possessed. The hapless bishop 
murmured, but did not rebel. In writing to a fellow 
bishop, he declared : " The king has recently demanded 
of us all our tithes, and the chief prelates of Upland 
have yielded their consent. This policy appears to me 
unwise. I dread an outburst from the people, and 
scarce have courage to make the announcement to 
them." A few days later he said : " I have written 
Gustavus about the tithes, but do not dare to discuss 
the matter seriously with the people. . . . Only a year 
ago the officers seized our tithes without consulting us. 
You can imagine, therefore, what the people will say to 
this new levy. However, if his Majesty will not coun- 
termand the order, we shall do our duty by writing and 
speaking to the people. The feeding of the army, which 
he wishes by consent of his advisers to impose upon the 
monasteries, we asserted at Vadstena was a foreign 
practice that ought never to be introduced." Despite 
these protests, Brask appears to have obeyed the mon- 
arch's orders. He wrote to the clergy of his diocese 

pp. 22, 25-29, 42-43 and 109-110 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., 
vol. iii. pp. 24-25, 101-104, 263-264, 385-386 and 416-417, and vol. iv. 
pp. 292-293, 321-322 and 357-358 ; and Smdl archiv., pp. 175-176. 



230 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

urging them to send their quota, and to send it quickly. 
" Bis dat qui cito dat," translated for the ignorant 
among his clergy, " He gives nothing who delays." 
The result was precisely what the bishop feared. The 
people fought against the imposition, and Brask, as a 
reward for his efforts, was accused by Gustavus of being 
a party to the revolt. The charge was utterly ground- 
less and unfair. From beginning to end the bishop's 
object had been to avoid friction, and finally he had 
sacrificed his own interests in order to prevent friction 
with the king. When in January, 1526, it was once 
more voted that the tithes be given to the crown, he 
wrote to all his clergy urging them immediately to obey. 
Gustavus, however, would not be appeased ; and a pa- 
rishioner claiming that the bishop had withheld some 
jewels that belonged to her, Gustavus, without examin- 
ing the matter, wrote to Brask : " The law, as we inter- 
pret it, gives you no power to take high-handed measures 
of this sort." A few days later Brask asserted : " The 
royal officers are beginning to enter upon the posses- 
sions of the Church, much to the displeasure of the 
people." What he alluded to particularly was the acts 
of Arvid Vestgbte, who had seized Church tithes and 
committed every sort of violence to the priests in Oland. 
Against this Brask protested, and before the year was 
over Vestgote was removed. By this time the spirit 
of the aged bishop was well-nigh broken. In answer 
to a summons from Gustavus in 1526, he wrote the 
king : " Though shattered by illness and the infirmi- 
ties of age, I will obey your orders with all the haste 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 231 

I can, provided the weather or my death does not pre- 
vent me." J 

Early in 1526, at one of the public fairs, an enthusiast 
came forward and announced in public that a leading 
Lutheran in Stockholm was preaching heresy, and that 
the king himself had violated old Church customs in his 
food and drink. This silly assertion burst like a bomb 
upon the town, and for a short period there was danger 
that the fanaticism of the year before would be renewed. 
However, the excitement soon died away ; and Gustavus, 
when he heard of it, declared the story to be a fabrica- 
tion. " Would to God," he wrote, " that people would 
examine into their own lives and not borrow trouble 
about the lives of others! Let them first pluck the 
beam out of their own eye, and then they can see 
clearly to pluck the mote out of their brother's eye." 
Lutheranism had by this time attained so general accept- 
ance that the monarch deemed it unnecessary to offer 
arguments in its support. In August, 1526, Laurentius 
Andreae forwarded to the archbishop of Trondhem the 
New Testament in Swedish, and added that some two 
or three hundred copies of the edition were still unsold, 
and could be had if he* desired them. This wide-spread 
distribution of the Scriptures produced its natural effect. 
The flame of theological discord that had been slumber- 



1 Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 66-70, vol. xv. pp. 5-7, 13- 
15, 25-29 and 49-50, vol. xvi. pp. 11-14 and 59-62, and vol. xviii. Rp. 
267-269, 276-282, 316-317, 320 and 341-342; Kon. Gust, den Fdrstes 
registrat., vol. ii. pp. 29-31, 191-192, 214 and 277-278, and vol. iii. 
pp. 166, 333-334, 406-408 and 425-428; and Linkoping, Bibliotheks 
handl., vol. i. pp. 199-201. 



THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VTIL 

ing for a year broke out afresh. Brask, as an offset to 
the new translation, interpreted into Swedish some 
tracts composed in Germany against the Luthert 
and the monarch, hearing of this move, sent off a letter 
commanding the aged bishop to desist. "Report has 
reached us, venerable father/' he began, " that you have 
translated into Swedish certain proclamations of the 
emperor against the doctrines now current, . . . and 
that you have circulated them among the common peo- 
ple. We are well aware that these proclamations are 
used to cast aspersions on us, since we are not so zeal- 
- as he is in opposition to these doctrines. It is, 
therefore, our desire and our command that you be 
patient, and send hither certain scholars from your 
cathedral to prove that anything is taught here other 
than the holy gospel. They shall be given a fair hear- 
ing, and may postulate their views without prejudice in 
any way. And if they can prove that any one preaches 
unchristian doctrine, he shall be punished. Further- 
more, we object to having a printing-press established 
in Soderkoping, lest it may do injury to the one es- 
tablished here.'' Gustavus was determined that the 
enemies of Luther should defend their faith. The dis- 
putation between Galle and Glaus Petri two years before 
had been unsystematic, and had produced no permar 
nent ef: the king resolved to force the parties 

to debate again. This time he put down in writ 
certain questions, and sent them to the leading prelal 
of the land, with orders to forward him their answers. 
The questions were similar to those already raised; 
among them being these : Whether we may reject all 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 233 

teaching of the Fathers and all Church customs that are 
unsupported by the Word of God ; whether the domin- 
ion of the pope and his satellites is for or against Christ ; 
whether any authority can be found in the Bible for mo- 
nastic life ; whether any revelation is to be relied on 
other than that recorded in the Bible ; whether the saints 
are to be considered patrons, or in any way are medi- 
ators between ourselves and God. Gustavus intended 
that when the answers were all received, a public hear- 
ing should be had, and every prelate given an oppor- 
tunity to refute the doctrines of his opponents. Some of 
the Roman Catholics, however, refused to enter the arena. 
Brask, in writing to the monarch, declared his clergy 
to be satisfied with their present doctrines, and unwill- 
ing to discuss them publicly. The bishop also wrote 
to Galle, hoping to dissuade him from the contest. 
But Galle, it appears, was eager for the fray. He put 
his answers down in writing, and sent them to the king. 
Other prelates, it is reported, did the same. The con- 
test, however, presumably from lack of combatants, did 
not succeed. Petri therefore took the written answers 
filed by Galle, and printed them in book form, along with 
comments by himself. This book does little credit 
either to Petri or to the general intelligence of his 
time. Should any one ask proof that we are more ra- 
tional creatures than our fathers, he can do no better 
than study in Petri's book the controversy that raged 
between the intellectual giants of Sweden at the close 
of 1526. Of the positions taken by the two contestants, 
Petri's was certainly less consistent than that of his 
opponent. Galle declared explicitly: "Not everything 



234 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

done by the Apostles or their successors is written in 
the Scriptures ; " 1 and on matters concerning which the 
Bible does not speak we must obey the practices handed 
down by the Apostles through the Church. Petri, while 
granting that many Fathers were inspired, declared we 
must not follow their instructions, " lest we be led away 
by the devil ; " 2 and yet the Bible, compiled from vari- 
ous sources by the Fathers, he held should be implicitly 
obeyed. In the light of recent scholarship, both com- 
batants were wrong. The Bible is no more intelligible 
without a knowledge of its history than is the teaching 
of the Fathers without a knowledge of the Bible. 3 
The contest has its chief value in the opportunity 

' that it gives us to study the methods of the king. From 
first to last it was a blow at popery and the temporal 
supremacy of Rome. Each question was worded with 
the very purpose of offering insult to the Church. Take 
for example the second question : whether the dominion 
of the pope and his satellites is for or against Christ. 
The monarch could not have thrown the question into 
a more irritating form. Certainly Galle showed for- 
bearance in arguing the point at all. His answer was 
an appeal to history. From the days of Gregory popes 

r had enjoyed vast riches along with temporal power ; this 

1 Shrift, och handl., vol. i. p. 100. 

2 Ibid., pp. 19 and 118. 

8 Christ. IL's arkiv, vol. iii. pp. 1075-1083 ; Handl. ror. SJcand. 
hist., vol. xvi. pp. 43-52, 59-62 and 76-73 ; Handl. ror. Sver. inre 
forhall., vol. i. pp. 20-21 and 46-48 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., 
vol. iii. pp. 100-101, 313-314, 331-333 and 421-426 and vol. iv. pp. 
3-4; Linkoping, Bibliotheks handl., vol. i. pp. 192-201; and Shrift, 
och handl., vol. i. pp. 1-145. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 235 

showed that they were justified in possessing wealth. 1 
Galle's logic on the subject is not altogether clear. 
Petri's was somewhat better. Christ had distinctly told 
the Apostles that his kingdom was not of this world, 2 
and Paul had declared that the Apostles were not to 
be masters but servants. 8 Petri then broke out into a 
tirade against his opponent's view. What right, he 
asked, had Galle to set up Gregory against Christ and 
Paul ? " What authority has he to expound the Word 
of God according to the deeds of petty men ? Rather, I 
conceive, are the deeds of men to be judged according 
to the Word of God." 4 To an assertion by Galle that 
the Church had held temporal power for the last twelve 
centuries, Petri answered : " For that matter, the Word 
of God has lasted still longer than twelve centuries. . . . 
However, the question is not how old the thing is, but 
how right it is. The devil is old, and none the better 
for it. That bishops are temporal lords is contrary to 
the Word of God ; and the longer they have been so, the 
worse for them. Princes and emperors have granted 
the pope vast privileges, by which in course of time he 
has become their master, till now all men bow down 
and kiss his feet. Where he was given an inch, he has 
taken an ell. . . . Christ told Saint Peter to feed his 
lambs. But the popes with their satellites have long 
since ceased to feed Christ's lambs, and for centuries 
have done naught but fleece and slaughter them, not 
acting like faithful shepherds, but like ravening wolves." 5 

1 Shrift, och handl., vol. i. p. 71. 

2 Ibid., p. 28. 8 Ibid., p. 33. 

4 Ibid., p. 76. 5 Ibid., pp. 77-78. 



236 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. Vin. 

This vehement language must have pleased the king. 
If bishops were not entitled to worldly goods, it was 
an easy task to confiscate their property to the crown. 
A like incentive called forth the question : whether any 
authority can be found in the Bible for monastic life. 
The question, in that form, permitted no reference to 
the Fathers. So Galle cited the command of Jesus : 
" Go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor; " and 
he further commended monastic life as a step on the 
way to heaven. 1 Petri replied that monks did not sell 
all they had and give to the poor, but clung fast to 
their possessions, bringing vast treasures into the mon- 
asteries with them. 2 

The disputation, while strengthening the hands of 
Petri, caused a momentary shout of opposition to the 
king. The cry arose that he was introducing strange 
and novel faiths. His faiths perhaps were novel, but 
they were not strange. The strangest feature in the 
matter was the position taken by the king. By this 
time, there can be no question, he was at heart with 
Luther ; yet, judging from his own assertions, he was a 
firm defender of the Church. The king's duplicity, of 
course, is easily explained. He wished to rob the Roman 
Catholics of their power without incurring their ill-will. 
He intended to reform their doctrines, and at the same 
time spread abroad the notion that these doctrines had 
reformed themselves. Some time before the disputation, 
he had written to the north of Sweden to explain his # 

1 Skrift. och handl., vol. i. p. 87. 

2 Ibid., p. 96. Petri's book, entitled Swar paa tolff sporsmal, pub- 
lished in 1527, is printed in Skrift. bch handl., vol. i. pp. 1-145. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 237 

views. " Dear friends," he courteously began, "we hear 
that numerous reports have spread among you to the 
effect that we have countenanced certain novel doctrines 
taught by Luther. No one can prove, however, that we 
have countenanced aught except the teaching of God 
and his Apostles. For the faith given us by our fathers 
we shall battle so long as life remains, and die, as our 
fathers died before us, in the faith. The seditious libels 
spread by Sunnanvader and his followers have occa- 
sioned all the injury that has fallen in days gone by 
upon this kingdom, as every reasonable man must know. 
Doubtless there are among the clergy as well as among 
the people many who are conscious of what they ought 
to do. But certain monks and priests have raised this 
cry against us, chiefly for the reason that we have de- 
nounced their ambitious projects and their unrighteous 
dealings toward the people. If any person owes them 
anything, they withhold from him the sacrament, and 
thus wring his money from him against the law of God. 
. . . Again, if a man kills a bird or catches a fish on 
the Sabbath day, they fine him in behalf of their bishop. 
This they have no right to do unless the act is com- 
mitted during church service, when the culprit should 
have been listening to the Word of God. Again, when- 
ever a priest has wronged a layman, the layman is 
practically without a remedy. He ought, however, to 
have the same remedy as the priest. Again, if a layman 
kills a priest, he is at once put under the ban, whereas 
if a priest kills a layman, he is not put under the ban. 
Yet God has forbidden priests to kill laymen as well 
as laymen to kill priests, making no difference in fact 



238 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VHI. 

between them, but commanding all men to be affec- 
tionate and peaceable toward one another. Finally, if a 
priest dies intestate, his heirs lose their inheritance and 
his property is taken by the bishop. Even the crown 
estates, which they know we are bounden by our oath of 
office to protect, they have confiscated, and now they 
proclaim that we have introduced new faiths and doc- 
trines taught by Luther. All we have done, as you 
already know, is to command them not to carry on 
their ambitious practices to the ruin of our realm." 
This explanation did not wholly calm the peasants ; 
and when they found Gustavus holding another con- 
test over their religious tenets, their suspicions were 
aroused again. Gustavus determined, therefore, that 
he must take some drastic measure to prevent revolt. 
What he needed was a vote of all the people to support 
his views. So he issued a proclamation in January, 
1527, informing the whole country that, since he was 
reported to be introducing new beliefs, he should soon 
summon a general diet to discuss the more important 
matters of belief, particularly the overweening power 
of the pope. 1 

To this serious step Gustavus was impelled by several 
things. In the first place he desired to fortify himself 
against the pope. During the last three years the pope 
had practically been without authority in Sweden. Gus- 
tavus had selected as his bishops men whose actions he 
was able to control, and the pope had deprived him- 

1 Dipl. Dal. } vol. ii. pp. 95-96 ; Handl. ror. Sver. inreforhdll., vol. i. 
pp. 33-36 and 53-56; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. iii. 
pp. 162-164 and vol. iv. pp. 18-20. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 239 

self of even the semblance of authority by refusing 
to confirm them. However, the nominal supremacy of 
Kome was not yet shaken off ; and until it was so, there 
was constant danger that her actual supremacy would 
revive. The monarch's chief anxiety concerned Arch- 
bishop Magni. That prelate owed his appointment 
mainly to the pliability of his temper, and to the assump- 
tion on the monarch's part that he would prove a ready 
tool. In this assumption Gustavus had soon discovered 
he was wrong. Magni, though of pliant temper, was a 
thorough Papist, and, as time went on, displayed a grow- 
ing tendency to oppose the king. In consequence he 
gradually fell from favor, till he became an object of 
open distrust. The earliest evidence of this feeling ap- 
peared in 1525, when Magni, as one of the envoys sent 
to Lubeck, was warned to take no action without the 
acquiescence of the other envoys. This mandate was 
issued from a fear lest Magni should encourage Lubeck 
to raise her voice against the spread of Lutheranism in 
the Swedish kingdom. How far this fear was justified, it 
is difficult to say. As Lubeck had not yet embraced the 
Reformation, she doubtless sympathized in some degree 
with Magni, but there is not the slightest evidence that 
Magni was unfaithful to the king. In February, of the 
following year, when Magni was starting for the Norwe- 
gian frontier to administer the rite of confirmation, he 
wrote the archbishop of Trondhem that he would like to 
meet him and discuss the dangerous condition of the 
Church. Gustavus, hearing of the contents of this let- 
ter, was aroused again. The archbishop of Trondhem 
had given offence by harboring Swedish refugees, and 



240 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIIL 

Magni's simple letter caused the monarch to believe that 
the two archbishops were, as he expressed it, " in secret 
negotiation." Some two months later, Gustavus being in 
the archbishop's palace, a stately feast was given in his 
honor. This only added to the feud. The monarch was 
incensed to find that Magni was capable of such display. 
Hot words ensued between them, and finally the arch- 
bishop was arrested and conveyed to Stockholm. There 
he was charged with conspiracy against the king. Cer- 
tain letters that had passed between him and the Roman 
Catholics of Germany were produced ; and though they 
showed no evidence of fraud, the archbishop was 'remanded 
to his prison to await the further disposition of his case. 
Never was greater injustice done a worthy man. There 
was not a scintilla of evidence against him. He was a 
generous, kindly, single-minded prelate, and the only 
reason for this cruelty was that he had no sympathy 
with the methods of the king. After some months in 
prison he was released upon the pretext of an embassy 
to Poland. Nobody could be ignorant what this pretext 
meant. He was to be an exile from his native land. 
He sailed from Sweden in the autumn of 1526, never to 
return. By such ignoble practices the monarch cleared 
his path. 1 

After the banishment of Archbishop Magni, Gustavus 

1 Johannes Magni, Hist, pont., pp. 76-80 ; Svart, Gust. I.'s kr'on., 
pp. 100-104 and 120-121 ; Handl. r'or. Skand. hist., vol. xviii. pp. 341- 
342 ; Handl. rbr. Sver. inre forhall., vol. i. pp. 31-32 ; Handl. till 
upplysn. af Finl. hafd., vol. ii. pp. 193-195 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes 
registrat., vol. ii. pp. 185-186 and vol. iii. pp. 111-112, 193-194, 267- 
268, 287-289 and 378-379 ; and Sand, til det Norske Folks Sprog og 
Hist., vol. i. pp. 487-488. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 241 

gave free rein to his ambition. The principal object of 
his greed was still the monasteries and convents. The 
practice of quartering his soldiers in them was by this 
time accepted as a necessary evil. But in August, 1526, 

o 

he raised a new pretension. The provost of the Abo Chap- 
ter having died, its members had chosen another in his 
stead, and had begun to distribute his property in accord- 
ance with a will that he had left, when a letter came 
from Sweden ordering them to stop. After expressing 
surprise that they should have chosen a provost without 
consulting him, Gustavus added : " We learn that your 
last provost left a large amount of property by his tes- 
tament to those persons to whom he wished to have it 
go. It is clear, however, that it would do more good if 
given to the public, since the kingdom is in a state of 
distress brought on by the long-protracted war against 
King Christiern. We therefore command you, after dis- 
tributing the legacies given to his family and friends 
as well as the poor, to hand the balance over to us 
to pay the nation's debt." Against this high-handed 
measure there was no redress. It was but part of a 
policy by this time well established in the monarch's 
mind. Some six months later, the burgomaster and 
Council of Arboga wrote Gustavus that affairs in their 
monastery were managed in a very slipshod way ; that 
when a brother died, the prior took possession of his 
estate, and the monastery itself got nothing for it. To 
prevent this state of things, Gustavus sent an officer 
to take up quarters in the monastery and send him a 
list of all the property he could find. " You will dis- 
cover also," he declared, " some chests belonging to for- 

16 



242 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VHI. 

eign monks. Take a look at them, and see what they 
contain." This letter, it should be remembered, was 
not intended for the public eye. Gustavus was careful 
to keep his actions dark, and, the monks of Arboga 
being accused of secreting certain treasures, the royal 
officer was instructed to make a diligent investigation, 
but to lay his hands on nothing until he received more 
positive commands. He was careful, also, that his 
practice of confiscating Church property should not be 
taken as an excuse for private individuals to do the 
same. In one case, where such a thing was done, he 
denounced the perpetrator in the strongest terms. More- 
over, when the monasteries began to murmur against the 
soldiers quartered with them, he sent out an open letter 
to them, declaring that he had instructed his officers to 
be as courteous to them as they could. It may be noted, 
however, that lie showed no signs of mitigating their 
distress. 1 

Early in 1527 Gustavus determined that the crucial 
moment for the Reformation had arrived. Dalarne, as 
usual, was in a state of insurrection, and every effort 
which he made to check the Church called forth a storm 
of imprecations from the northern provinces. The tax 
imposed upon the Dalesmen being still withheld, it was 
particularly necessary that the insurrection should be 
stayed. In February, therefore, Gustavus wrote a letter 
to appease the people. " Dear friends,'' began the mon- 

1 Handl. rbr. Sver. inre forhall., vol. i. pp. 32-33, 40-42 and 53- 
54; Handl. tillupplysn. af Finl. hafd., vol. ii. pp. 190-191; and Kon* 
Gust, den Farstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 124 and 260-261, and vol. iv. 
pp. 70-71, 80, 91 and 130-131. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 243 

arch, " we understand a report is spread among the peo- 
ple that some new creed is preached here to the dishonor 
of God, the Virgin, and the saints. Before God we 
declare this rumor to be false. Nothing is here preached 
or taught except the pure word of God, as given by 
Christ to his Apostles. ... It is indeed true, that de- 
nunciations have been heard in public against the vice 
and avarice of the clergy, and against the flagrant abuse 
of their privileges. They have oppressed the ignorant 
with excommunication, withholding of the sacrament, 
and all sorts of impositions. Wholly without authority 
from Holy Writ, they have imposed their Romish in- 
dulgences upon you, carrying vast treasures of gold 
and silver out of the kingdom, thus weakening our 
realm and impoverishing our people, while the high 
prelates have grown rich and haughty toward the 
lords and princes from , whom these very privileges 
were derived. . . . We therefore urge you all by your 
sworn allegiance, not to be deceived by false ru- 
mors about us, doubting nothing that we shall move 
heaven and earth to promote your interests. And we 
beg you earnestly to believe that we are as good a 
Christian as any living man, and shall do our utmost 
to promote the Christian faith." Every one could see 
that this assertion was intended to persuade the Dales- 
men to pay the newly levied tax. As the effort 
proved without avail, the monarch called a general 
diet to be held on the 9th of June, the object being. 
as he declared, to put an end to the dissension that- 
had arisen in divine affairs. Later, the diet was post- 
poned to June 15, and, to appease the Dalesmen, was 



244 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

ordered to be held in Vesteras, a city that was near 
their province. 1 

Before the day appointed for the diet, a long list of 
their grievances was drawn up by the Dalesmen and 
sent to Stockholm to the king. To these complaints 
Gustavus issued a reply, in which he strove to pacify 
the malcontents and thus obtain their presence at the 
diet. The complaints themselves are somewhat trivial, 
but the monarch's answer is important as an instance of 
his peculiar power in avoiding discord without directly 
compromising his affairs. To their murmur at the 
abolition of the mint in Yesteras, and the scarcity of 
coins of small denominations, he answered that the mint 
was closed because the mines adjacent were no longer 
worked ; so soon as the mines in question should be 
opened he would reinstate the mint, and moreover he 
would please them by issuing small coins. As to the 
complaint of heavy taxes, the Cabinet were responsible 
for that. He would say, however, that he did not con- 
template any further tax. The practice of billeting in 
the towns and monasteries was made necessary by the 
paucity of land about the royal castles, but this neces- 
sity he hoped would not exist much longer. The charge 
of reducing the number of monasteries and churches he 
denied. He had not closed a single monastery except 
Gripsholm, which was the property of his father and 

1 Dlpl. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 102-104 ; Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xvi. 
pp. 115-119; Handl. ror. Sver. inre for hall, vol. i. pp. 54-56 and 62- 
63; Kon. Gust, den Fbrstes registrat., vol. iv. pp. 74-76, 135-136, 
138-140, 147-150, 159-163 and 166-167; and Svenska riksdagsakt. t 
vol. i. pp. 56-59. 



1525-27.] rSTEEXAL ADIONISTBATI ' 245 

had been made a monastery against his father's will. 
To the ludicrous charge that he was planning to restoi 
Archbishop Trolle, he made a flat denial. One thing, 
he said, was certain, — those who favored Trolle fc 
Christiern : he could scarce be charged with that. Fi- 
nally, the Dalesmen complained of Luther's teachings, 
particularly the doctrines that were taught in Sfcc iholm 
and the practice of allowing Swedish chants and hymns. 
To this he could say only that he had ordered noth- 
ing to be preached except the Word of God; and as to 
Swedish chants, he could see no reason for punish:: lg 
Stockholm what was permitted in all other portio:.- : 
the kingdom ; it was certainly better to praise God in 
a language that everybody understood than in Latin, 
which no one understood. " I wonder much,*' he said 
in closing, 4i that the Dalesmen trouble the $ con- 

cerning matters of which they have no knowlei_e. It 
would be wiser to leave the discussion of these thin _ - tc 
priests and scholars. ... I da not believe, how 
that ti taunts are made : ur own free will, 

:ather at the instigation of certain priests and 
monks, whose desire is to keep the truth unkn 
This sentence with which he closed contains the pith 
of the entii ;■ Letter. The monarch felt that in the 
ing contest the opposing par:: to be the Church 

and State. He endeavored, therefore. :y means 

to win the Dalesmen to his side. Lett) ra were de- 
spatched to Dalarne from various portions of the realm, 
to instruct the peasants that reisl 1 in their 

opposition to Gustavus, tl. I > fight alone. 

Dalesmen, however, were no more influenced by 



246 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

threats than by persuasion. They stood firm in their 
determination ; and when the diet assembled on the 24th 
of June, no delegates from Dalarne appeared. 1 
I The Diet of Vesteras is the bulwark of the Swedish 
Reformation. It is the first embodiment in the Swedish 
law of the reforms of Martin Luther. Gustavus had 
been making ready for this diet ever since the day of 
his election, and at last the opportunity was ripe. One 
by one the prelates that were hostile to his views had 
been removed ; and Brask, the only man of strength that 
still held out against him, was tottering to the grave. 
His enemies abroad had been by this time silenced, and 
except in the little province of Dalarne, Sweden was 
at peace. It was this revolt among the Dalesmen that 
served as a pretext for the diet. Gustavus was too 
shrewd a politician to make an open avowal of his aim. 
He announced that the purpose of the diet was to quell 
the constant riots in the realm, and hinted with mock 
innocence that he wished also to end the dissension that 
had arisen in matters of the Church. Among the per- 
sons who answered to the summons we find the names 
of four bishops, including Brask, together with repre- 
sentatives from Upsala and all the other Chapters ex- 

o 

cepting Abo. Beside these, there were present one hun- 
dred and forty-four of the nobility (of whom sixteen 
were Cabinet members), thirty-two burghers, one hun- 
dred and five peasants, and fourteen delegates from the 
mining districts. The king's design had been made 

1 Dipt. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 105-109 and 112-113 ; Handl. ror. Sver. 
iftre forhalL, vol. i. pp. 64—67; and Kon. Gust, den Forsles registrat., 
vol. iv. pp. 169-174, 177-1S0, 183-184 and 19S-199. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 247 

manifest before the diet met : for on the previous Sun- 
day, at a banquet given by him to the delegates already 
arrived in Vesteras, he had taken especial pains to show 
the bishops that their temporal supremacy was at an 
end. Despising every venerated custom, he had ranged 
about himself the higher members of the nobility, and 
had consigned the bishops to an inferior position. The 
affront thus put upon them galled them to the quick, 
and on the following day they held a secret meeting to 
discuss their wrongs.* All of the bishops present ex- 
cepting Brask discerned the hopelessness of their cause. 
and advocated a humble submission to the monarch's 
will. But Brask was boiling over with indignation. 
He sprang to his feet and shouted that they must be 
mad. If the king wanted to deprive them of their rights 
by force, he might do so. But they ought never to con- 
sent to such a course, lest they might thereby offend the 
Holy See. In times gone by. princes had frequently 
attempted the same thing that Gustavus was attempting 
now. but the thunders of the Vatican had always over- 
whelmed them. If the bishops now should fall away 
from ' their allegiance to the pope, their only refuge 
would be gone. They would become mere puppets of 
the king, afraid to speak a word in favor of their old 
prerogatives. These sentiments of Brask's were lis- 
tened to with favor. The warmth with which he spoke 
produced its natural effect, and before the prelates 
parted they drew up a set of i; protests," as they 
called them, agreeing never to abandon the pope or 
accept a single article of Luther's teaching. To these 
" protests " the prelates all attached their seals : and 



248 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

fifteen years afterward the document was discovered 
under the floor of Yesteras Cathedral, with all the seals 
attached. 1 

Directly following this secret session of the prelates, 
the general diet assembled in the grand hall of the 
monastery. The proceedings opened with a laborious 
address from Gustavus, — his secretary, Laurentius An- 
dreae, acting as spokesman for the king. This address 
reviewed the entire history of the monarch's reign. He 
began by thanking his subjects for their presence at 
the diet, and went on to remind them that he had 
already more than once expressed his willingness to 
resign the crown. Nothing had induced him to retain 
it except their earnest prayer. He had therefore 
striven, night and day, to promote the welfare of his 
people, and in return for all his labors insurrection had 
sprung up on every hand, till now, the Dalesmen having 
once again rebelled, he was determined that he would no 
longer be their king. They charged him now with im- 
posing heavy taxes, with keeping up the price of food, 
with billeting his soldiers in the towns and monasteries, 
with robbing churches and confiscating religious prop- 
erty, with favoring new creeds and sanctioning new cus- 
toms. All these charges were untrue. He had com- 
manded that nothing should be preached except the 
Word of God ; but his orders had not been obeyed, for 
the people preferred to cling to their ancient customs, 
whether right or wrong. As it was impossible, under 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s krbn. t pp. 121-123; Alia riksdag, och mot. be- 
sluth, vol. i. pp. 75-89 ; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. iv. 
pp. 226-240 and 249-250. 



tie i resent system. :: i~::i iiitiinl re :eili:i, ii 

- - 1 must be found to increase 

tie ::;il:i::n, Er-:5::::^i:-vi:: r j:: ie i; -; : 
:!-::■:-- :: lis iini :::—.: it 1 r . : -- - : :e ; ni : i 

n::t ::r'.;i:r:: tint it ~~ is iii.inn 1275 itie: 

to foreign powers was a serious drain npon bis rerenne. 

V.T::-::. tie ::;m1 :-ies ill ill -ii> nt: le:i 7 mi 

foreign prince, a yast outlay would be required. The 

neiilitj lis; ~ere ■-_-- - : _ ; 7 ; :ii:iii Must ::_:-;.- 
lire, ni — ere nliii :i tie :. :~_ ::: :■:. 1 E:s t resent 
in::i_e ~is ™ eity-tin tiiisiii mris :;: :i:';i. 
while his expenses in round numbers amounted to si : 

tinsiii i::£i. : 

♦~7." 1 " ~' in:: :;s„;:s :: :i _~, A~ti: in ne n:it7iis 
ster.i lii- i. 2:: :i triiis ieiiinei tie lisi:;-. it ~is 
:let: 1: ill nei tilt Ills turn: s- ~s :•: li- 11..1 
Tin 1 .- :: mini i:--et. ii-ei::e. z:~::.l> :Yi :: 
I::- iiit-i-t i, i-liir :;^.ni— ii:s isiil 
:ezi;i::sii:e letinei tilt. ii~ii --.::. i _ .:.::: :: 
>i: - ii felt it - 
lommands. He had, however, bj bis oath of office 
1:1 11. — it: 1; 1 ::'..:::_: :: 11:11:7 :: Tiie —ill ::' iin:: 
1111 -:.. :e :".::- ; te ill :::.-::: iiii 111 tie 'in : ::- 
litis", .lii'vilii. - ::i-.-:~. ~i ■■:'_-.•: ::il :: '•tts.ni :: 

:. pp. 56-67 ; Km. Gwat. dm Fantea rg$istnxg., toL tv. pp. 300- 



250 THE SWEDISH KE VOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

the holy Church, they must not consent to sacrifice their 
rights. But he would promise that any deacons, priests, 
or monks who might devise tricks or superstitious prac- 
tices not prescribed by their superiors, should be ordered 
to desist and should be punished. 1 

At this, Gustavus demanded of the Cabinet and no- 
bility whether they were satisfied with the answer. As 
none seemed eager to defend the monarch's cause, Gus- 
tavus took the floor himself and said * " I have no 
further desire, then, to be your king. Verily I had 
not counted on such treatment at your hands. I now 
no longer wonder at the perversity of the people, since 
they have such men as you for their advisers. Have 
they no rain ? They lay the blame on me. Have they 
no sun ? Again they lay the blame on me. When 
hard times come, hunger, disease, or whatever it may 
be, they charge me with it, as if I were not man, but 
God. This is your gratitude to me for bringing corn 
and rye and malt at great expense and trouble from 
foreign lands, that the poor of Sweden might not starve. 
Yea, though I labor for you with my utmost power 
both in spiritual and in temporal affairs, you would gladly 
see the axe upon my neck ; nay, you would be glad to 
strike the blow yourselves. I have borne more labor 
and trouble both at home and abroad than any of you 
can know or understand, — and all because I am your 
king. You would now set monks and priests and all 
the creatures of the pope above my head, though we 
have little need of these mighty bishops and their reti- 
nue. In a word, you all would lord it over me ; and 
1 Svart, GusU Vs kron. 9 p. 126. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 251 

yet you elected me your king. Who under such cir- 
cumstances would desire to govern you ? Not the worst 
wretch in hell would wish the post, far less any man. 
Therefore I, too, refuse to be your king. I cast the 
honor from me, and leave you free to choose him whom 
you will. If you can find one who will continue ever 
to please you, I shall be glad. Be so considerate, how- 
ever, as to let me leave the land. Pay me for my 
property in the kingdom, and return to me what I have 
expended in your service. Then I declare to you I will 
withdraw never to return to my degenerate, wretched, 
and thankless native land." x 

After this burst of passion, the monarch strode in 
anger from the hall. He had studied his position well, 
and knew that his opponents in the end must yield. 
No sooner had he left the meeting than his secretary 
rose and sought to bring the members to the monarch's 
views. " My good men," he began, " let us arrive at 
some conclusion in this matter, seeking aid from God. 
It is a weighty question that we are to answer, and 
one upon which hangs the welfare of our people. You 
heard the king say truly there were but two courses 
open. One was to follow his request, imploring him to 
be our leader hereafter as heretofore ; the other was to 
choose the king's successor." But the delegates con- 
tinued silent, and adjourned toward evening without 
putting the question to a vote. 2 

During three whole days the deadlock lasted. From 
the inactivity of the king's adherents, it would seem 
that they were acting according to advice. Gustavus 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s Won., pp. 126-128. 2 Ibid., p. 128. 



252 THE SWEDISH EEVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

wished to force his enemies' hand. It was clear to 
everybody that the blessings conferred by him on Swe- 
den were beyond all praise, and he was confident that 
no one would be rash enough to talk seriously about 
selecting another for the throne. His object was to wait 
until the patience of his enemies was exhausted, in the 
hope that ultimately the offer of a compromise should 
come from them. If such methods of procedure are 
to be allowed, it must be granted that the monarch's 
policy was shrewd. During the three days following 
his stormy action in the diet, he kept himself in the 
castle, entertaining his trusty courtiers and feigning 
utter indifference to what was going on outside. On 
the very day after his withdrawal, this independent 
policy began to tell. The bishop of Strengnas was ap- 
parently the first to waver. He appreciated the folly of 
longer holding out against the king, and rose to say 
that he regarded such a step as fraught with danger. 
Something must be done, he said, without delay. To 
put aside Gustavus and elect another king was simply 
childish, and to buy up all his property would be impos- 
sible. While he wished the clergy's rights to be pro- 
tected, he asked for nothing that would be a detriment 
to the realm. Matters in general were now improving, 
and the future apparently was bright. If Gustavus should 
be permitted to withdraw, nations that had ever coveted 
the kingdom would no longer leave it unmolested. The 
effect of these words was in a measure lost through a 
wrangle that ensued between Laurentius Petri and the 
Papist champion, Peder Galle. What they were fight- 
ing over, no one knew, for Petri made his argument in 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 253 

Swedish for the benefit of the people, and Galle would 
not answer in anything but Latin. Nothing had been 
accomplished, therefore, when the disputation ceased. 
And the morning and the evening were the second day. 1 

When the diet once more came together, the battle 
opened with replenished strength. By this time the 
peasantry and burghers had pretty generally sided with 
the king, and threats were heard that, if the knights 
persisted in their stubborn purpose, they would be made 
to suffer for it. This language proved more efficacious 
than persuasion. The knights and bishops could agree 
upon no policy, nor upon a leader. They were terri- 
fied, moreover, by the preponderance in number of their 
foes. As a consequence, they gradually weakened, till 
at last the delegates all voted to obey the monarch's will. 
Andreae and Petri were therefore chosen to approach 
Gustavus and inform him that the delegates would now 
consent to his requests. Gustavus then indulged once 
more his love of masquerade. He feigned reluctance to 
accept the proffered honor, and scorned the delegates 
who came to him upon their knees. One after another 
the recalcitrant members grovelled in the dust before 
him, and begged that he would show them mercy. This 
was the sort of ceremony that the monarch loved. He 
kept his enemies in their humble posture till his vanity 
was glutted, and then declared that he would go before 
the diet on the following day. 2 

Gustavus was at last in a position to dictate to the 
diet. The opportunity for which he had been longing 
since his first acceptance of the crown was now at 

1 Svart, Gust. L's Won,, pp. 128-131. 2 Ibid., pp. 131-133. 



254 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

hand. He had won an unconditional victory over every 
one of his opponents, and he was minded to use this 
victory for all that it was worth. It is matter of regret 
that practically no account is given us of the steps by 
which the measures that he sought to have enacted 
were attained. This very meagreness, however, is strong 
evidence that the measures were enacted without much 
friction. Apparently, the only object of the delegates 
now was to suit their action to the monarch's will. 
They therefore adopted as their guiding star the propo- 
sitions with which the diet had been opened by the 
king, and formulated a set of answers in conformity 
therewith. These answers were drawn respectively by 
the Cabinet and nobility, by the burghers and moun- 
taineers, and by the common people. It is worthy of 
more than passing notice that no answer was presented 
by the clergy. Indeed, the clergy appear to have been 
regarded in the light of victims. The whole object of 
the diet was to crush the Church, and the clergy were 
not permitted even to have a hand in the proceedings. 
The monarch's notion was to give the clergy no voice 
whatever in the diet, but after the lay delegates had 
formulated their resolves, to force the bishops to issue 
a proclamation certifying their assent. 

It seems desirable to describe in brief the answers 
which the different classes of delegates presented. The 
Cabinet and nobility began by promising that, if the 
rebellion in Dalarne were not already quelled, they 
would use every measure in their power to attain that 
end. They were satisfied with the monarch's seizure of 
Gripsholm. They deemed it proper, since the royal 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 255 

rents were small, that Gustavus be at liberty to grant 
the monasteries of the land as fiefs, but not, however, to 
expel the monks. In order to increase the wealth of the 
nobility, they advocated that all property granted by 
former noblemen to churches or monasteries since 1454 
revert to the donors' heirs, though not until such heirs 
should prove their title. To augment the crown's re- 
sources, they believed the bishops, chapters, and cathe- 
drals should surrender to the king all that portion of 
their income which they did not absolutely need. No 
one should be permitted to preach falsehood or anything 
beyond the simple Word of God, and old Church customs 
ought to be maintained. 1 

The burghers and mountaineers gave their answer in 
a similar vein. They begged Gustavus to remain their 
king, and promised to defend him with their blood. 
They would express no opinion concerning Dalarne till 
the Dalesmen who were going thither should bring 
back their report. Since the monks were clearly at the 
bottom of the trouble, no monk should be permitted to 
leave his monastery more than twice a year. Gustavus 
should be given the right of billeting whenever it were 
necessary. Before deciding about the new beliefs they 
wished to hear a disputation on the subject. As the 
rents of the nobility and crown had been diminished by 
the Church, the Church ought certainly to restore them ; 
and the mode of restoration should be determined by 
Gustavus and his Cabinet. The royal castles having 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 67-70 ; Kon. Oust, den 
Forstes registrat., vol. iv. pp. 216-220; and Sve?iska riksdagsakL, vol. i. 
pp. 75-78. 



256 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

been demolished, the prelates should surrender theirs 
until the castles belonging to the crown could be rebuilt. 
Finally, from that day forth no bishop ought to send to 
Rome for confirmation. 1 

The answer of the common people began with a prom- 
ise that they would go to Dalarne and inflict punish- 
ment upon the traitors ; and since many monks were in 
the habit of inciting the people to rebel, it seemed desir- 
able that they be permitted to leave their monasteries 
only twice each year. Gustavus might quarter his sol- 
diers in the monasteries whenever it was necessary. 
The churches and monasteries near Stockholm, having 
in times past given shelter to the enemy, should be torn 
down and their materials used to repair the city walls. 
All matters of creed they were willing to leave to the 
bishops and prelates, but asked that a disputation on 
these subjects might be had in presence of representa- 
tives of the people. The king should have authority to 
increase his revenue in the way that seemed to him most 
fitting. The king might take the bishops' castles till his 
own could be rebuilt. The proper disposition of the 
Church incomes they were content to leave to the king 
and his Cabinet. 2 

One cannot but be startled by the revolutionary ten- 
dency of these replies. Never before had such a thing 
been dreamt of as the surrender of all the bishops' cas- 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 70-72 ; Kon. Gust, den 
Forstes rcgistrat., vol. iv. pp. 220-222 ; and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. L 
pp. 78-80. 

- Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 72-74; Kon. Gust, den 
Forstet rcgistrat., vol. iv. pp. 223-22G ; and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. 
pp. 80-82. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 257 

ties to the crown. Gustavus must have been bewildered 
by his own audacity. Within four days the diet that 
had come together puffed up by a consciousness of its 
own magnificence, had sunk into a position of absolute 
servility. Things had been granted by the delegates 
which, when the diet opened, Gustavus had not even 
dared to ask. The very mode in which the votes were 
taken and the acts were passed, shows how completely 
everybody answered to the monarch's nod. Instead of 
the answers being submitted to a general vote, they were 
laid before the Cabinet to be passed upon by them. In 
defiance of every precedent, the Cabinet usurped the right 
to clothe the diet's sentiment in language of their own. 
The result was a decree promulgated in the diet's name 
and celebrated in Swedish history as the Yesteras Recess. 
By this decree the delegates asserted, every one of them, 
that they would do their utmost to punish all conspira- 
cies against the king. They declared, moreover, that as 
the royal incomes were but meagre, the monasteries and 
churches must come to the relief, and, to prevent all 
danger, no bishop should keep up a larger retinue than 
the king allowed. All bishops and cathedrals, with their 
chapters, must hand over to the king all income not abso- 
lutely necessary for their support. Since many monaste- 
ries were dilapidated and their lands were lying waste, an 
officer must be appointed by the crown to keep them up 
and hand over all their rents not needed for that pur- 
pose to the crown. The nobility were declared entitled 
to all property that had passed from their ancestors to 
the Church since 1454. Finally, Gustavus was ordered 
to summon the two factions in the Church to hold a dis- 

17 



258 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

putation in presence of the diet, and the members prom- 
ised to quell the outcry that had arisen against Gustavus 
and to punish the offenders. 1 

It is reported that something in the nature of a dispu- 
tation was now held. But its significance, at any rate, 
was small. The bishops and their clergy were to all 
intents and purposes without a voice ; and ere the diet 
closed, a set of resolutions had been passed which did 
away with all necessity for further disputation. These 
so-called " Vesteras Ordinantia " were even more far- 
reaching than the " Vesteras Recess." Since they are 
the touchstone of the modern Swedish faith, the reader 
will pardon prolixity if I give them all. They are as 
follows : (1) Vacancies in the parish-churches are to be 
filled by the bishop of the diocese. If, however, he ap- 
points murderers, drunkards, or persons who cannot or 
will not preach the Word of God, the king may expel 
them and appoint other priests who are more fit. (2) 
Where a parish is poor, two of them may be joined to- 
gether, though not if such a step would be an injury to 
the Word of God. (3) All bishops shall furnish the king 
with a schedule of their rents and incomes of every kind. 
From these schedules he shall determine the relative 
proportions for them to keep and to hand over to the 
crown. (4) A similar course shall be pursued with regard 
to the cathedrals and chapters. (5) Auricular confession 
must be given up as already commanded, and an account 
must be rendered to the king of all fines imposed. 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s krbn., p. 133 ; Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. 
i. pp. 75-79 ; Kon. Chest, den Forstes registrat., vol. iv. pp. 226-231 ; 
and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. pp. 82-87. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 259 

(6) An account must also be rendered to the king of all 
fees received for remitting the ban, and bishops with 
their officers must not inflict the ban for petty offences, 
as has been often done hitherto. (7) Bishops shall have 
authority to determine as to the legality of marriages, 
and may grant divorces, but an account shall be ren- 
dered to the king of all fees received therefor. (8) Fees 
for weddings, funerals, and churchings, may be taken as 
provided in the Church ordinances, but no more. (9) 
Since it has been decreed that the king and not the 
bishop is to receive all fines imposed in cases within 
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the provosts may hereafter hold 
court just as the bishops have done hitherto, and shall 
render an account of their doings to the king. (10) For 
desecration of holy days no penalty is to be imposed on 
those who have been tilling the ground, or fishing, or 
catching birds, but persons discovered hunting or quar- 
relling shall be fined. (11) Priests shall be subject to 
temporal laws and temporal courts, in all disputes, of 
their own or of their churches, concerning property, 
torts, or contracts, and shall pay to the king the same 
penalties as laymen. But all complaints against the 
clergy for non-fulfilment of their priestly duties shall 
be laid before the bishop. (12) If a priest and layman 
come to blows, one shall not be placed under the ban 
any more than the other, for God has forbidden priests 
to quarrel as well as laymen. Both shall suffer for their 
acts according to the laws of the land. (13) Since it 
has been found that mendicant monks spread lies and 
deceit about the country, the royal stewards are to see 
that they do not remain away from their monasteries 






260 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

more than five weeks every summer and five weeks every 
winter. Every monk must get a license from the stew- 
ard or burgomaster before he goes out, and return it 
when he comes back. (14) Monks who receive rents shall 
not go out to beg at all. (15) When a priest dies, the 
bishop is not to defraud the priest's heirs of their inheri- 
tance. Priests shall be bound, in regard to their* wills, 
by the same law as other people. (16) If a man has 
sexual intercourse with a woman to whom he is engaged, 
he shall not be punished, since they are already married 
in the eye of God. (17) No person who is infirm shall be 
compelled by priests to make a will. (18) The sacrament 
shall not be withheld from any one for debt or other 
reason. The church or priest has a remedy in court. 
(19) Fines for adultery and fornication belong to the 
king, not to the bishop. (20) The Gospel shall hereafter 
be taught in every school. (21) Bishops shall consecrate 
no priest who is incompetent to preach the Word of God. 
(22) No one shall be made a prelate, canon, or prebend 
unless he has been recommended by the king, or his 
name submitted to the king. 1 

1 There is a Latin version of the " Ordinantia " containing certain 
regulations not given in the Swedish. They are these : The contribu- 
tion known as " Peter's penning " shall not be given hereafter to the 
pope, but shall go to swell the royal revenue. A like disposition shall 
be made of the money which the monasteries are wont to send to the 
superiors of their orders. Bishops and* other prelates shall not here- 
after pay anything to the pope for confirmation. It will be sufficient if 
they take their office by consent of the king. All property, real and 
personal, donated to the cathedrals, monasteries, and parochial or pre- 
bendal churches, shall belong to the descendants of the noblemen who 
gave it, and if there is any residue, it shall be conferred by the king on 
whomsoever he will. All real property sold or pledged to churches 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 261 

These ordinances were practically a signal for the death 
of popery. They not only transferred to the king the 
rich emoluments on which for centuries the bishops had 
grown fat ; they transferred also to him a right to super- 
intend the actions of ecclesiastical authorities in matters 
appertaining to the Church. It is hardly credible that 
so vast an object should have been attained without more 
friction, and that it was attained is a lasting testimony 
to the shrewdness of the king. We may sneer at the 
childish indignation with which Gustavus strode forth 
from the diet, but the fact remains that this pretended 
indignation gained its end. Above all else, Gustavus 
knew the character of his people. They were particu- 
larly prone to sentiment. A few sham tears or an exu- 
berant display of wrath had more effect upon them than 
the most sagacious argument that the monarch could 
employ. His policy, therefore, was to stir their feelings, 
and then withdraw to watch their feelings effervesce. 
It is not too much to say that no monarch has ever in 
so short a time effected greater change in sentiment than 
Gustavus effected among the members of this diet. 

Before the delegates departed, a letter was issued by 
all the bishops present, and by representatives of the 

may be redeemed on payment of the sum received for the property. To 
augment the crown's resources the bishops, cathedrals, and canons 
ought to hand over to the king as large a sum as they can spare. All 
these regulations in the Latin version bear on their face the stamp of 
forgery. They are drawn in a careless manner, and convey the impression 
of being part of a rough draught that never was perfected. Certainly they 
never were enforced. See Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 90- 
93 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. iv. pp. 241-247 ; and Svenska 
riksdagsakt., vol. i. pp. 89-96. 



262 THE SWEDISH KEVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

absent bishops, declaring to the people that Gustavus 
had portrayed in graphic terms the evil inflicted on the 
crown in former times by bishops ; and that the lay 
members had voted, to prevent such danger in the future, 
that the bishops' retinues should be limited thereafter 
by the king, and that all their superfluous rents and 
castles, as well as the superfluous rents of the cathedrals 
and chapters, should be surrendered to the crown. "To 
this," the humbled prelates added, " we could not, even 
if we would, object, for we wish to dispel the notion that 
our power and castles are a menace to the realm. We 
shall be satisfied whether we are rich or poor." To 
one who reads between these lines, it is easy to discern 
the language of the king. He also wrote, above his 
own name, to the people, informing them that the diet 
had been held; and for details of the proceedings he 
referred them to a letter which the Cabinet had penned. 1 
There was one man on whom the diet of Vesteras 
had fallen like a clap of thunder from on high. His 
cherished dream of finally restoring Romanism to her 
old position in the eyes of men was now no more. 
The knell of popery had been sounded, and nothing 
remained for the aged bishop but despair. True to the 
spirit of the ancient Church, he had looked askance on 
every effort to discuss her faith. The doctrines handed 
down through centuries appeared to him so sacred that 
in his eyes it was sacrilege to open them again. In 
answer to the monarch's oft-repeated counsel that the 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 79-82 and 89 ; Kon. 
Gust, den Forstes registrat., vol. iv. pp. 249-256 ; and Svenska riksdags- 
akt., pp. 87-88 and 96-100. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 263 

Church reform her doctrines, he had steadily asserted 
his unwillingness to take that step, " for these new doc- 
trines," he declared, " have been investigated frequently 
in other countries and have been condemned. No man 
of wisdom, I believe, will champion a doctrine that is 
contrary to the mandates of the Christian Church." 
This constant opposition on the part of Brask had 
brought him more and more beneath the monarch's 
frown. Gustavus let no opportunity escape to add hu- 
miliation to the venerable bishop. On one occasion 
Brask unwittingly had consecrated as a nun a woman 
who formerly had been betrothed ; and when the woman 
later left the convent to become her lover's wife, the 
bishop placed them both beneath the ban. This act 
called forth a condemnation from the king. " The 
bearer tells us," were his words to Brask, " that he has 
married a woman to whom he was engaged, and who 
against her will was made a nun. We see no wrong 
in such a practice, and wonder much that you did not 
inform yourself before the girl received her consecra- 
tion. The husband informs us, further, that you have 
placed them both beneath the ban. This course appears 
to us unjust, and we command you to remit the pun- 
ishment. . . . We think it better to allow this mar- 
riage than to drive the woman to an impure life." A 
little later, when revolt arose in Dalarne, Gustavus fan- 
cied that he saw the bishop's hand. " The priests," he 
said to one of his officers, " are at the bottom of all 
rebellion, and the diocese of Linkoping is the heart of 
this conspiracy." Gustavus had no ground for this 
suspicion, and the charge was utterly untrue. Brask 



264 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VHI. 

thought the tax imposed upon the Dalesmen altogether 
too severe, and did not hesitate to say so ; but he was 
very far from sympathizing with the rebels, and when it 
was ordered that the diet should be held in Vesteras to 
please the Dalesmen, he was the first person to suggest 
a danger in holding it so near the seat of the revolt. 1 

Brask's influential position in the diet only added to 
the monarch's wrath, and it was against him chiefly that 
the diet's acts were framed. He was the wealthiest 
of the Swedish bishops. Hence the reduction in their 
incomes, as commanded by the diet, fell heaviest on him. 
But even here the monarch's greed was not assuaged. 
After the " Ordinantia " had been passed, Gustavus rose 
and called upon the several bishops to resign their cas- 
tles. This step, though advocated by the burghers and 
mountaineers as well as common people, had not been 
ordered by the diet. Gustavus seems, therefore, to have 
made the demand upon his own authority alone, and 
the issue proved that his authority was great. The 
bishops of Strengnas and Skara, on whom the demand 
was made first, acquiesced as gracefully as was possible 
to so provoking a demand. But when the monarch came 
to Brask, that prelate did not readily comply. One of 
the nobility addressed the king, and begged him to 
allow the aged bishop to retain his castle during the 
few short years that yet remained to him of life. This 

1 Dipl. Dal, vol. ii. pp. 110-112 and 115-116 ; Handl ror. Skand. 
hist., vol. xvi. pp. 70-75, 78-80, 98-100, 105-106, 119-122 and 124- 
127; Handl. ror. Sver. inre for hall., vol. i. pp. 58-59 and 60-62; Kon. 
Oust. denForstes registrat, vol. iv. pp. 3-4, 12-13, 42-43, 54-55, 111— 
112, 175-176, 400-404, 406-407, 417 and 419-420; Honumenta polit. 
Eccles., pp. 10-11 and 17-18 ; and Shrift, och handl., vol. i. pp. 352-353. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 265 

reasonable request, however, the monarch would not 
grant; and Brask persisting in his right to hold the 
castle, Gustavus deprived him of his retinue and held 
him prisoner till he furnished bail conditioned for his 
good behavior as well as for the surrender of his castle. 
The diet then adjourned, Gustavus sending forth a body 
of men who entered the bishop's castle by main force, 
and placed it under the supremacy of the king. 1 

The ground of this barbaric treatment appears in a 
negotiation between the king and Brask some five weeks 
later. By the Yesteras Recess Gustavus was given a 
claim to all the income not needed by the bishops, cathe- 
drals, and chapters for their support. But since the 
sum required for the prelates was not named, the field 
thus left for argument was wide. The prelates took a 
much higher view of their necessities than was taken by 
the king. Brask especially found it hard to do without 
his ancient pomp and circumstance. Gustavus there- 
fore put the screws upon him to bring the lordly bishop 
to the ground. How well this plan succeeded is shown 
in a document of the 2d of August — about five weeks 
after the seizure of Brask's castle — in which the bishop 
is declared to have come to an understanding, and to 
have promised the king fifteen hundred marks a year 
beside some other 'tribute. In reward for this conces- 
sion, Gustavus declared himself contented, and received 
the bishop once more into royal favor. 2 

1 Svart, Gust. L'm kr'dti., pp. 133-134; and Kon. Gust, den Forstes 
registrat., vol. iv. p. 259. 

2 Handl. ror. Seer. inreforhalL, vol. i. pp. 105-107 j and Kon. Gust, 
den Forstes registrat., vol. iv. pp. 287-289. 



266 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. VIII. 

There is now but little more to chronicle about the 
aged bishop. Beaten at every point, and practically a 
prisoner at the monarch's mercy, he had at last capitu- 
lated and granted to Gustavus all that he had asked. 
The surrender, furthermore, was but the prelude to the 
bishop's flight. Conscious that every hope was crushed 
forever, he craved permission to visit Gotland and per- 
form the sacred duties of his office. This request was 
granted, and the venerable prelate set forth never to 
return. On pretext of consulting eminent physicians, 
he sailed across the Baltic, and watched the monarch's 
movements from afar. Gustavus, when he learned of 
this escape, confiscated all the property of Brask that 
he could find, and, worse than all, he issued a letter, 
filled with venom, denouncing the perfidy of the aged 
bishop and telling the people of his diocese that Brask 
had fled because of suits that certain persons were 
about to bring against him for his wrongs. 1 

It is difficult to take our leave of Brask without a word 
in admiration of his character. He was, in point of in- 
tellect, the most commanding figure of his time. Though 
born and bred among a people strangely void of under- 
standing, he displayed some talents by which he would 
have stood conspicuous in any court of Europe. His 
learning possibly was not so great as that of Magni, nor 
did his eloquence by any means compare with that of 
Petri. But in matters of diplomacy, in the art of com- 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s krbn., pp. 134-135 ; Handl. r'or. Sver. inrefor- 
hall, vol. i. pp. 120-123, 129 and 135-138 ; Kon. Gust, den Forstes 
registrar vol. iv. pp. 315-318, 325-326, 327-328, 340-343 and 391- 
394; and Smdl. archiv., pp. 175 and 177. 



1525-27.] INTERNAL AmUSISTRATIOX. 267 

prehending human nature, he was unsurpassed by any 
prelate of the day. He was singularly acute in form- 
ing his conclusions. Rarely if ever did he express 
opinions that were not ultimately verified by facts. 
His versatility, moreover, was something marvellous. 
While weighted down with every sort of trouble and 
anxiety, he spent his leisure moments in writing per- 
fectly delightful letters to his friends. These letters 
bear the marks of suffering, but are calm in spirit, 
charitable, and replete with thought. They treat of 
botany, of geographical experiments, and of various 
schemes to benefit the Swedish nation. As specimens 
of literature they are superior to any other documents of 
the time ; and the writer evidently took keen pleasure in 
their composition. " By means of letters," he declared, 
" we keep our friends ; and I would rather keep the 
friends I have than make new ones." Brask's great- 
est fault was his hypocrisy ; but even this was due 
more to his education than to any innate trait. He 
was a Romanist of the deepest dye, and along with 
Romanism he inherited a tendency to sacrifice the 
means in order to effect the end. His very earnest- 
ness impelled him to deceive. But his deception, if 
only we may judge him leniently, was of a very par- 
donable kind. Take him for all in all, he was an ex- 
tremely interesting man ; and when he left the country, 
Sweden lost a valuable son. 



Chapter IX. 

CORONATION OF. THE KING. 1528. 

Reasons for Delay of the Coronation. — Preparations for the Ceremony. 
Consecration of the Bishops. — Coronation Festival. — Retrospect of 
the Revolution. — Character of Gustavus. 



THERE is but one scene needed now to bring the 
drama of the Swedish Revolution to its close. 
During a period of over four eventful years Gustavus 
Yasa had been seated on the throne, but the final act 
deemed necessary in the election of a king had not 
yet taken place. Again and again the people had urged 
Gustavus to be crowned, but on one pretext or another 
he had put them off, and the ancient rite of coronation 
was not yet performed. The mystery of this strange 
delay can easily be explained by looking for a moment 
into the condition of the Swedish Church. 

It was a time-honored theory all over Christendom 
that no person could be legally installed in any royal 
post without first having the sanction of the Church 
of Rome ; and such sanction, it was held, could only 
be conferred through the consecrated archbishop of the 
land. When Gustavus was elected king, the Swedish 
archbishop was in voluntary exile, and nobody expected 
that he ever would return. Indeed, he was so far an 
object of suspicion at the papal court that, shortly after 
the election of Gustavus, the pope appointed another 



1528.] CORONATION OF THE KING. 269 

prelate to perform the duties of archbishop till the 
charges brought against Gustaf Trolle should be set at 
rest. It is matter of common knowledge that Trolle 
never succeeded in vindicating his position ; and Magni, 
though not confirmed, continued to perform the duties 
of archbishop. 

In January, 1526, the Cabinet urged Gustavus to be 
crowned, and he declared that he would do so in the 
coming summer, trusting presumably that Magni would 
receive his confirmation ere that time. A tax was even 
levied to defray the expenses of the ceremony. But 
some opposition was encountered when the royal offi- 
cers endeavored to collect the tax, and, the kingdom 
being then in need of revenue, the project had to be 
postponed. There is evidence, moreover, that Gustavus 
was not eager for the confirmation of the prelates. 
On one occasion he expressed a fear that they were 
seeking to obtain their consecration with a view to 
transfer their allegiance from himself to Rome. Ap- 
parently his object was, by continual postponement of 
the coronation, to have a standing argument whenever 
he desired to obtain new funds. 1 

Matters therefore dragged on in the same way till 
Archbishop Magni had been banished and the diet of 
Vesteras had voted an addition to the income of the 
king. As the Cabinet had been beyond all others urgent 
in their solicitations, the announcement of the monarch's 

1 Alia riksdag, och mot. besluth, vol. i. pp. 37-39 and 45-47 ; Dipl. 
Dal., vol. ii. pp. 77, 80-81 and 93 ; Handl. ror. Sver. inre for hall., vol. i. 
pp. 19-20 ; and Kon. Gust, den Fbrstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 12, 22- 
23, 95-96, 236-237 and 414-415. 



270 



THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. 



[Chap. IX. 



resolution was addressed to them. He would have still 
preferred, he said, to delay his coronation till the sum- 
mer of 1528 ; but fearing that at that time he should be 
too busy, he had resolved to have the rite performed 
soon after Christmas, and the day he fixed at January 6. 
Invitations were then sent out to all the noblemen of the 
realm, who were instructed also to appear with all their 
retinues, and to bring their wives and daughters with 
them. Each town was asked to send two delegates to 
the coronation, and a certain number of persons were to 
represent the different parishes throughout the land. 
Sheep, geese, and hens were ordered in enormous quan- 
tities to be collected by the royal stewards for the fes- 
tival. These the thrifty monarch arranged should be 
provided by the parishes themselves. Lest the Dales- 
men, already somewhat irritated, should have new cause 
for discontent, Gustavus wrote them that they need not 
take part in the contribution, nor even send their repre- 
sentatives if they did not feel inclined. 1 

Although the Swedish Church was practically severed 
from the Church of Rome, a doubt still lingered in the 
monarch's mind as to the propriety of a coronation by 
prelates whose authority had not been sanctioned by the 
pope. Therefore, to remove all chance of- contest, he 
directed that those bishops who had not received their 
confirmation should be sanctified through laying on of 
hands by those who had. As a matter of fact the only 
bishops whose authority had been derived from Rome 
were the bishops of Vexio and Vesteras. The former 

1 Kon. Gust den Forstes regislrat., vol. iv. pp. 334-335, 360-366 
and 416-417 ; and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. pp. 102-10Y. 



•A 

1528.] CORONATION OF THE KING. 271 

was too old to undertake the active duties of his office. 
The bishop of Vesteras was selected, therefore, to con- 
secrate the bishops of Skara, Strengnas, and Abo. This 
was effected on the 5th of January, — just before the 
coronation festival began. 1 

The gorgeous ceremony was performed, according to 
ancient practice, in the Cathedral of Upsala. Represen- 
tatives from every portion of the realm were present, and 
the huge edifice was filled from choir to nave with all 
the wealth and beauty that the land could boast. It 
was the final tribute of gratitude to one whose ceaseless 
energy had saved the nation from long years of tyranny. 
Never had the Swedish people been more deeply bounden 
to revere their ruler. If in the annals of all history a 
king deserved to wear a crown, Gustavus Yasa was that 
king. The honor, however, was not all his own. The 
ceremony of coronation over, Gustavus selected from 
among his courtiers twelve to whom he granted the de- 
gree of knighthood. Here again, as on the day of his 
election, he displayed the sentiments that inspired his 
whole reign. No longer do we find among the mon- 
arch's chosen counsellors the names of men illustrious 
in the Church and Chapter. It was from the ranks of 
the lower classes that the persons whom he was to knight 
were chosen, and from this time forward the knights to 
all intents and purposes composed his Cabinet. No 
stronger argument can be offered to show the utter hu- 
miliation of the Church. 2 

1 Svart, Gust. I.'s. Jkrdn., p. 136; Handl. r'or. Sver. hire forJidll., vol. i. 
pp. 133-134; andZofl. Gust, den Forstes registrat., xol.iv. pp. 3G8-369. 

2 Svart, Gust. I.'s kron.. p. 136; and Kon. Gust, den Furstes 
trat., vol. v. pp. 9-11. 



212 



THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. 



[Chap. IX. 



The act of coronation was followed by a period of 
mirth. A rich repast was offered by the king, at which 
the representatives of all the classes were invited to be 
present. A new coin, also, bearing the full-length figure 
of Gustavus, with his sword and sceptre, and wearing 
on his head a crown, was issued and distributed gra- 
tuitously among the people. On the following days the 







ceremony was prolonged by tilt and tourney. With all 
the gallantry of a warmer climate two gladiators entered 
the lists to combat for the hand of one of Sweden's 
high-born ladies. The chronicler has immortalized the 
combatants, but the fair lady's name, by reason of a 
blemish in the manuscript, is gone forever. From be- 
ginning to end the scene was one which no eyewitness 
ever could forget. Years later, it stirred the spirit of 
the author whose zeal has given us the leading features 
of our narrative. It is a fitting picture with which to 
close this tale. 1 

The Swedish Revolution now was at an end, and the 
great achievements of Gustavus Vasa had been done. 

1 Svart, Gust. L's kr'6n. y pp. 136-137. 






1528.] CORONATION OF THE KING. 273 

Though not yet thirty-two, the youthful monarch had 
already secured a place among the foremost leaders of 
the world. We have watched the Swedish nation rise 
from insignificance, through a series of remarkable de- 
velopments, till its grandeur cast a lengthened shadow 
across the face of northern Europe. In some regards 
this revolution stands pre-eminent above all others known 
in history. Few political upheavals have been more sud- 
den, and few, if any, have been more complete. Seven 
years was all Gustavus needed to annihilate the an- 
cient constitution, and fashion another structure of an 
absolutely new design. The Cabinet, at one time the 
autocrat of Sweden, was now a mere puppet in the mon- 
arch's hand. Under the guise of leader of the people, 
Gustavus had crushed the magnates, with all their old 
magnificence and power, beneath his feet. In place of 
bishops and archbishops, whose insolence had been to 
former kings a constant menace, his court was filled 
with common soldiers selected from the body of the na- 
tion, and raised to posts of highest honor, for no other 
reason than their obedience to the monarch's will. Of 
the old ecclesiastical authority not a trace was left. 
Rome, in ages past the ultimate tribunal for the nation, 
had now no more to say in Sweden than in the kingdom 
of Japan. The Reformation was so thorough that from 
the reign of Gustavus Yasa to the present day, it is 
asserted, no citizen of Sweden has become a Romish 
priest. 

The Revolution whose main incidents have here been 
followed recalls another Revolution enacted near three 

18 



274 THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION. [Chap. IX. 

centuries later amid the forests of the great continent of 
North America. Both originated in a long series of acts 
of tyranny, and each gave birth to a hero whose name 
has become a lasting synonym of strength and greatness. 
The lessons of history, however, are more often found 
in contrasts than in similarities, and the points of differ- 
ence between these two upheavals are no less striking 
than their points of likeness. The chief difference lies 
in the individual characteristics of the leaders. George 
Washington was pre-eminently a hero of the people. 
He embraced the popular cause from no other motive 
than a love of what he deemed the people's rights ; and 
when the war of independence closed, he retired from 
public life and allowed the nation whose battle he had 
fought to take the government of the country upon 
itself. The result was the most perfect system of repub- 
lican government that the world has ever known. Gus- 
tavus Yasa, on the other hand, though actuated in a 
measure by enthusiasm for the public weal, was driven 
into the contest mainly by a necessity to save himself. 
The calm disinterestedness which marks the career of 
Washington was wholly wanting in the Swedish king. 
His readiness to debase the currency, his efforts to hu- 
miliate the bishops, his confiscation of Church property, 
his intimacy with foreign courtiers, — all show a desire 
for personal aggrandizement inconsistent with an earnest 
longing to benefit his race. One must regret that the 
rare talents which he possessed, and the brilliant oppor- 
tunities that lay before him, were not employed in more 
unselfish ends. It is true he gave his country a bet- 
ter constitution than it had before; he freed it from 



1528.] CORONATION OF THE KING. 275 

the atrocities of a horrid tyrant ; he laid the axe at the 
root of many religious absurdities ; and he relieved the 
people from a heavy load of religious burdens. But he 
did not lay that foundation of public liberty which the 
blood poured out by the Swedish people merited. Oh 
all nations on the face of the globe none are more fitted 
by temperament for a republican form of government 
than the Swedes. They are calm, they are thoughtful, 
they are economical, and above all else, they are imbued 
with an ardent love of liberty. It is hard, therefore, to 
repress the wish that Gustavus Vasa had been allowed, 
at the diet of Vesteras, to lay aside the crown, and that 
in his place a leader had been chosen to carry on the 
good work on the lines already drawn. The Revolution 
had begun with a feeling that the Swedish nation was 
entitled to be ruled according to its ancient laws, — that 
it was entitled to a representative form of government ; 
and it was only because of the nation's admiration for 
its leader that this object was relinquished. The people, 
having expelled one tyrant, chose another ; and ere Gus- 
tavus closed his memorable reign, the principle of hered- 
itary monarchy was once more engrafted on the nation. 
Nothing could demonstrate with greater clearness the 
extreme danger that is always imminent in blind en- 
thusiasm for a popular and gifted leader. 



BIBLIOGEAPHY. 



I. AUTHORITIES- 

, A. Boohs and Pamphlets. . 

[In this list are included all works written for publication, whether 
published or not, before the year 1600. The arrangement is strictly 
chronological.] 

Beyer, Christopher. Chronicon Gedanensis. [In Scriptores rerum 
Suecicarum medii aeui,ed. E. M. Fant. Upsal., 1818-1828. 2 vols. 
f°. vol. iii., ed. C. Annerstedt. Upsal., 1871-1876. f°. sect. 1, 
pp. 339-340.] 

The author was born in 1502, and died in 1518. His chronicle 
contains a few allusions to events in Sweden from 1507 to 1515. 

Ferber, Eberhard. Chronicon Gedanensis, [In Scriptores rerum 
Suecicarum, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 340-341.] 

Author died in 1529. A few statements in his chronicle refer to 
the expedition of Christiern II. against Sweden in 1518. 

Svenska medeltidens rim-kronikor, ed. G. E. Klemming. Stockh., 
1865-1868. 3 vols. 8°. 

This ancient collection of rhythmic chronicles, composed by va- 
rious unknown hands, is devoted chiefly to events occurring before 
the sixteenth century; and most of the chronicles contained in it were 
written before that time. Two of them, however, were written in 
the monastery at Vadstena in 1520, one running through the reign 
of Karl Knutsson, and the other running from 1452 to 1520. Be- 
side these there is a satire on Christiern II. , written shortly after 
1520. Although these chronicles are little to be relied on, they are 
extremely valuable as specimens of early Swedish literature. 



278 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Kock, Reimarus. Chronicon Lubecensis. [In Scriptores rerum 
Suecicarum, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 239-274.] 

Author born at end of fifteenth century, lived in Lubeck, and 
died in 1569. His chronicle runs to 1521. 

Von der grausamen tyrannischen myssehandelung , so Kiinig Chris- 
tiern, des names der Ander vo Denmarck jm reich zu Sweden begdgen 
hatt. 

This little work, containing only twelve pages, bears no date or 
place of publication on the titlepage, but at the end is dated at 
Surcbping, Dec. 29, 1522. One copy of it is in the Royal Library 
at Stockholm. It is merely a denunciation of the cruelties of Chris- 
tiern II., and was doubtless issued with a view to win friends for 
Gustavus Vasa in different parts of Europe. It is written in High 
German, and has since been translated and published several times 
in Dutch and also in Swedish. 

Proelia inter Suecos et Danos annis 1452-1524. [In Scriptores 
rerum Suecicarum, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 33-34.] 

A short list of battles believed to have been composed by Spegel- 
berg, the secretary of Bishop Brask, about the year 1524. 

Diarium Minoritarum Visbyensium ab anno 686 ad annum 1525. 
[In Scriptores rerum Suecicarum, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 32-39.] 

A meagre chronicle of events in Visby, composed by various un- 
known hands in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. 

Stegmann, Bernt. Hanseatische Chronik. [In Scriptores rerum 
Prussicarum, ed. T. Hirsch, M. Toppen, and E. Strehlke. Leipz., 
1861-1874. 5 vols. 8°. vol. v. pp. 492-528.] 

This chronicle runs to the year 1525. It was probably collected 
"by Stegmann, a Dantzic burgher of the time of Gustavus, but it 
seems not to have been written by him. It is in Low German. 
Pages 517-528 give the story of Christiern's cruelties in Sweden, 
which the writer denounces in unmeasured terms. 

Ziegler, Jacob. Crudelitas Christierni Secundi. [In Scriptores 
rerum Suecicarum, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 71-77.] 

This description of the carnage of 1520 was written at some pe- 
riod between that year and 1531.] 

Chronicon episcoporum Arosiensium. [In Scriptores rerum Sueci- 
carum, vol. iii. sect. 2, pp. 120-128.] 

This consists of some extracts made by Peder Svart from a 
rhythmic Latin chronicle of an unknown author. It runs to 1534. 

Eliesen, Povel. Chronicon Skibyensis. [In Scriptorum rerum 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 279 

Danicarum medii aeui, ed. J. Langebek. Hafniae, 1772-1878. 9 vols. 
f°. vol. ii. pp. 554-602.] 

This chronicle was written by Eliesen in the years 1519-1534, 
closing abruptly with the year 1534, though it has been continued 
by a later hand to the year 1555. The MS. was found in 1650, in the 
church at Skiby in Seeland. Eliesen was a Danish priest, a Cath- 
olic, and a vehement opponent of Christiern II. 

Petri, Olaus. Svenska kronika, ed. G. E. Kleinming. Stockh., 
1860. 8°. 

Born in 1497 ; died in 1552. Called the Luther of Sweden. Was 
a man of determined character, great eloquence, and common sense. 
He wrote in a strong, pure style, and with a critical judgment. 
His Svenska kronika is the first history of Sweden written in mod- 
ern Swedish. It was completed in 1534, but runs only to the year 
1521. It awoke the hostility of Gustavus because of its leniency to 
the old bishops and clergy. 

Rensel, Clement. Berattelse horande till Konung Gustafs I.'s 
historia. [In Handlingar rorande Skandinaviens historia. Stockh., 
1816-1865. 41 vols. 8°. vol. ii. pp. 13-54.] 

A native of Livonia, came to Sweden in 1521 to enlist under the 
banner of Gustavus. He writes like a blunt soldier who revels in 
the story of a battle. His Berattelse seems to have been written 
for the king. It is chiefly a chronicle of Swedish wars, running 
from 1518 to 1536. The original MS. is in the University Library 
atUpsala, and seems to have run later than the year 1536, a portion 
at the end of the MS. being lost. 

Diarium Vazstenense ab anno 1344 ad annum 1545. [In Scriptores 
rerum Suecicarum, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 99-229.] 

A long chronology of Church affairs, chiefly relating to the mon- 
astery at Vadstena. Written by unknown hands, and completed 
in the sixteenth century. 

Markvardige handelser i Sverige ifran 1220 till 1552. [In Scrip- 
tores rerum Suecicarum, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 90-91.] 

A very short chronology of general events in Sweden, by an un- 
known author, written in the sixteenth century. 

Magni, Johannes. Be omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus qui 
unquam ab initio nationis extitere, eorumque memorabilibus bellis late 
uarieque per orbem gestis, opera Olai Magni Gothifratris eiusdem au- 
toris ac etiam archiepiscopi Upsalensis in lucem edita. Romae, 1554. 4°. 

The author, the last Roman Catholic archbishop of Sweden, was 



280 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

born in 1488 and died in 1544. The work is edited fcy his brother, 
Olaus Magni. It runs to the year 1520. The writer lacks critical 
judgment, and his work abounds in errors. He writes as one who, 
though wronged, is unwilling to complain ; yet he hints that later 
generations may not think so highly of Gustavus as those living 
at the time. 

Magni, Olaus. . Historia de gentibus Septentrionalibus, earumque 
diuersis statibus, conditionibus, moribus, ritibus, superstitionibus, dis- 
ciplinis, exercitiis, regimine, uictu, bellis, fructuris, instruments, ac 
mineris metallicis, et rebus mirabilibus, necnon uniuersis pene animali- 
bus in Septentrione degentibus, eorumque natura. Romae, 1555. 6°. 

Author was a brother of Archbishop Johannes Magni. Born 
in 1490, travelled through the northern portions of Scandinavia in 
1518 and 1519 on a papal mission. As a canon of Upsala and Lin- 
kdping was employed by Gustavus Vasa in several missions, being 
sent to Rome in 1523 to obtain papal confirmation of his brother's 
election to the archbishopric. After his brother's disgrace he fol- 
lowed him, as his secretary, to Rome, and at his brother's death 
was appointed archbishop of Upsala by the pope, but never at- 
tempted to assert his right. Died in Rome in 1558. He was a 
man of remarkable memory, and possessed strong powers of obser- 
vation ; but he lacked his brother's even temper. His Hist, de gent, 
Sept. is one of the most singular books ever written. It is an ency- 
clopaedia of Sweden in the sixteenth century; and though filled with 
errors and barefaced exaggerations, is invaluable to any student of 
Swedish history. 

Magni, Johannes. Historia pontificum metropolitanae ecclesiae 
Upsaliensis in regnis Suetiae et Gothiae. [In Scriptores rerum Sue- 
cicarum, vol. iii. sect. 2, pp. 5-97.] 

This work was first printed at Rome in 1557, with a preface by 
Olaus Magni. Reprinted at Rome in 1560. 

Petri, Laurentius. Then Svenska chronikan. [In Scriptores re- 
rum Suecicarum, vol. ii. sect. 2, pp. 3-151.] 

Born 1499, died 1573. First Protestant archbishop of Sweden, 
and brother of Olaus Petri. Lacked his brother's eloquence, but 
surpassed him and indeed all men of his time as a writer of Swe- 
dish prose. This work is nothing but his brother's Svenska kronika, 
wholly revised, with the omission of certain manifest errors. Like 
his brother's work, it runs only to the year 1521, and is believed 
to have been completed about 1559. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 281 

Svaning, Hans. Refutatio calumniarum cuiusdam Ioannis 
Magni Gothi Upsalensis, quibus in historia sua ac famosa oratione 
Danicam gentem incensit. 1560. 4°. 

A Danish priest and royal historiographer ; born 1503, died 1584. 
Was a warm adherent of Fredrik II. of Denmark, and an oppo- 
nent of Christiern II. Wrote this book to refute the work Be omn. 
Goth, of Johannes Magni. It is so full of bitterness toward the 
Swedes that, while it was going through the press, the Danish 
chancellor suppressed the pages bearing Svaning's name, and the 
book was published under that of a German professor named Rose- 
fontanus, who had died in 1559. The name of the printer and 
place of publication was also left out, and it was made to appear 
as if compiled many years before from some documents which 
Rosefontanus had seen when Christiern II. took refuge at his house. 
The copy in the Royal Library at Stockholm contains the sup- 
pressed pages, all soiled and torn. A second edition, bearing the 
author's real name, was printed in Copenhagen in 1561. 

Svaning, Hans. Christiernus II. Daniae rex. Francof., 1658. 
12°. 

Published from an old MS. written by Svaning. Is written 
with much vigor, though somewhat unfair both to Christiern II. 
and to Gustavus Vasa. 

Svart, Peder. Ahrapredikning offwer then fordom stormechti- 
gaste, oqffwerwinnelige, och hogloffligaste furstes och herres, H. Gos- 
tafs, Sweriges, Gothes, Wandes etc. konungz och faders, christelige lijk. 
Holmiae, 1620. 4°. 

This is the funeral oration delivered over the body of Gustavus 
in Upsala Cathedral, Dec. 21, 1560, by Peder Svart, who had for- 
merly been preacher to the court and had been made bishop of 
Vesteras by Gustavus in 1556. It is ornate and pretentious, and 
of little value. 

Svart, Peder. Gustafl.'s krbnika, ed. G. E. Klemmiug. Stockh., 
1870. 8°. 

This chronicle was begun in 1561, the year following the king's 
death ; and the author himself died in 1562, having brought his 
work down only to the year 1533. The original MS. is in the Royal 
Library at Stockholm. Svart writes in a forcible and at the same 
time easy style. Nor does he lack good sense ; though the work is 
marred throughout by a bitterness toward popery and a total 
blindness to the errors of Gustavus. 



282 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Svart, Peder. Historia om de forna Westerns stiffs biscopar, ed. 
A. A. von Stiernman. Stockh., 1744. 4°. 

A history of the bishops of Vesteras, running to 1534.' 

Toxites, Michael. Epicedion sereniss. ac potentiss. principis, ac 
D. D. Gostaui, Suecorum, Gothorum, atq : Vandalorum regis. 

A copy of this rare little book is preserved in the British Mu- 
seum. It contains eight quarto pages without pagination, and is 
without date or place of publication, though it is believed to have 
been printed in Stockholm in 1561. It is a mere eulogy of Gusta- 
vus in Latin verse, and is addressed to King Erik XIV. 

Grip, Birger NilssoD . Calendarium Hammarstadense. [In Scrip- 
tores rerum Suecicarum, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 237-239.] 

This is a short calendar of the births and deaths of some eminent 
persons arranged in the order of the days of the year. The compiler 
was born about 1490, and died in 1565. He was a Cabinet member, 
and a warm supporter of Gustavus Vasa, whose niece lie married. 

Ludvigsson, Rasmus. Collectiones historicae. [In Scriptores re- 
rum Suecicarum, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 79-87.] 

Born probably at beginning of sixteenth century. When Gus- 
tavus, according to Act passed at Vesteras, 1527, established the 
Royal Archives, he employed Ludvigsson to collect all the old 
documents belonging to the various churches. These were then 
deposited in the Royal Archives. Ludvigsson also, by order of 
Gustavus, compiled a genealogical table of the old nobility of Swe- 
den, that Gustavus might know what estates to claim. Under 
Erik XIV., as well as under his brother Johan, Ludvigsson held the 
post of secretary to the king. He died in 1594. As a writer he 
shows great industry and poor judgment. The Collectiones com- 
prises a continuation of Svart's chronicle to 1560, a chronicle of 
Erik XIV., and a compilation of the early Swedish chronicles from 
1362 to 1522. Of these the chief is the continuation of Svart, 
which includes also Svart's chronicle slightly altered, and the whole 
of it was long supposed to be Ludvigsson 's own work, though the 
name was erroneously spelt Rasmus Carlsson. The original MS. 
of this continuation of Svart is in the University Library at Upsala. 
The MSS. of Ludvigsson's other works are in the Royal Library 
at Stockholm. 

Karl IX. Rim-chronika, ed. B. Bergius. Stockh., 1759. 4°. 

This is a metrical chronicle, written by one of the sons of Gus- 
tavus Vasa, and containing one or two references to Gustavus. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 283 

B. Letters, Treaties, and other Documents. 

The contemporary documents bearing on the Swedish 
Eevolution number several thousand. Nearly all of these 
have now been printed except the following collections : — 

Gustaf I.'s registratur. 

This consists of thirty-one MS. folios containing copies of the 
letters written by Gustavus throughout his reign, and is pre- 
served in the Royal Archives at Stockholm. The letters are ar- 
ranged in chronological order, each folio as a rule embracing the 
letters of a year. Nearly all the folios were compiled by the king's 
secretary in the course of the year which they represent, though 
some of them were not compiled till 1600 or even later ; and por- 
tions of the contemporary folios, left incomplete at the time, are 
filled out by a later hand. Besides this collection, the Registratur 
originally embraced fifteen folios of the king's letters to foreign 
powers, and some folios of his letters on the crown estates ; but 
these are lost. The thirty-first volume of the extant portion of the 
Registratur does not properly belong there, being a transcriptiou of 
Claes Christersson's letters to Gustavus in 1558-1561. Of the Re- 
gistratur, ten volumes have now been published, extending through 
the year 1535. 

Gustaf I.' 's acta historica. 

This is the name given to nine bundles of MSS., chiefly originals, 
in the Royal Archives at Stockholm, bearing on the reign of Gus- 
tavus Vasa. Many of them are found transcribed in the Registra- 
tur. Some, not so transcribed, have been published in the already 
printed volumes of the Registratur, as supplements, and in the 
Svenska riksdagsakter edited by Hildebrand and Alin. 

Gustaf I.'s href med bilagor. 

This is the name given to three bundles of MS. letters, chiefly 
originals, of Gustavus Vasa. These, too, are preserved in the 
Royal Archives at Stockholm. Most of them are found transcribed 
in the Registratur. Some, not so transcribed, have been published 
in the already printed volumes of the Registratur, as supplements, 
and in the Svenska riksdagsakter edited by Hildebrand and Alin. 

Gustaf I. J s radslagar. 

This is the name given to a bundle of original MSS. of the 
Cabinet resolutions under Gustavus Vasa. It is preserved in the 



284 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Royal Archives at Stockholm. Most of these radslagar have been 
published in the Svenska riksdagsakter edited by Hildebrand and 
Alin. 

Palmskiold samlingar. 

This consists of over five hundred folios of documents collected 
and copied by Erik and Elias Palmskiold about the year 1700, and 
contains copies of many original MSS. now lost. Portions of these 
folios have been printed. As now bound, volumes 2, 3, and 4 of 
that portion of the collection called number 1 are entitled Acta ad 
historiam R. Guslaui I., and are devoted wholly to the reign of 
Gustavus Vasa. 

Apart from the above-named MSS., practically all docu- 
ments bearing on the Swedish Eevolution will be found 
printed in one of the following collections : — 

Acta et litterae ad historiam Reformationis in Suecia, ed. E. M. 
Fant. Upsal., 1807. 4°. 

Contains documents on the Reformation in Sweden. 

Acta historiam Regis Christierni II. illustrantia, ed. P. A. Adde. 
Upsal., 1833. 4°. 

Contains a letter from Christiern II. to his queen, dated 1518, 
on the day of the battle of Brannkyrka; also a document of 1520 
resigning Stockholm Castle to Christiern ; also a letter from Gus- 
tavus Vasa, 1522; and a letter from Norby to Christiern, 1523. 

Acta Tomiciana. Posnaniae, 1852-1860. 9 vols. 4°. vol. ix. 
2a ed. 1876. 4°. 

A celebrated collection of documents in the Royal Archives of 
Poland. 

Aktstykker. See Odense. 

Alia riksdagars och motens lesluth, ed. A. A. von Stiernman. 
Stockh., 1728-1743. 4 vols. 4°. 

A collection of documents issued by diets and conventions from 
1521 to 1727. 

Bidrag till Skandinaviens historia ur utlandska arkiver, ed. C. G. 
Styffe. Stockh., 1859-1884. 5 vols. 8°. 

A collection of foreign documents, chiefly from the Private Ar- 
chives of Denmark, relating to the history of Skandinavia, running 
to 1520. 

Breve og Aktstykker til Oplysning af Christiern den Andens og 






BIBLIOGRAPHY. 285 

Frederik den Ffrstes Historie, ed. C. F. Allen. Kjobenhavn, 
1854. 4°. 

Contains documents from 1519 to 1530 on the history of Chris- 
tiern II. and Fredrik I. 

Chxistiania. Samfund for det Norske Folks Sprog og His- 
toric. Sanding til det Norske Folks Sprog og Historie. Christiania, 
1833-1839. 6 vols. 4 D . 

Contains documents on the surrender of the district of Viken by 
Sweden to Norway, 1523-1535 ; also documents on the rebellion 
of Sunnanvader and Kuut. 

Christiern Il.'sarkiv, le serien. Handlingar rorande Severm Xorly 
och de under hans ledning staende krigsforetagen mot Sverge, ed. X. J. 
Ekdahl. Stockh., 1835-1842. 4 vols. 8°. 

A collection of documents on Christiern II. 's expeditions against 
Sweden. 

Copenhagen. Kongeligt Dansk Selskab for Faedrelandets 
Historie og Sprog. Danske JJagazin, oe Paiekke. Kjobenhavn, 
1813-1860. 6 vols. 4 : . 

This is the third series of the work mentioned under the preced- 
ing title. It contains a few letters relating to Christiern II. 's rela- 
tions with Sten Sture in 1513. 

Copenhagen. Kongeligt Geheimearchiv. Aarsberetninger, ed. 
C. F. Wegener. Kjobenhavn, 1852-1553. 7 vols. 8 C . 

A collection of documents in the Private Archives at Copenhagen. 

Corps universe! diplomatique du droit des gens, ed. J. Dumont. 
Amst., 1726-1739. 13 vols. P. 

A collection of European treaties from the reign of Charlemagne. 

Danske Magazin. See Copenhagen. 

De la Gardiska archivet, eller handlingar ur Grejl. De la Gardiska 
hibliotheket pa Loberod, ed. P. "Wieselgren. Stockh. <Sc Lund, 1831- 
1814. 20 vols. & bihang. 8°. 

A collection of documents on the history of Sweden, preserved in 
the library of the De la Gardie family. 

Den Sicenska Mercurius. 4e argang. Stockh., 1758. 8°. 

Contains a few letters from Gustavus Vasa. 

Diplomatarium Dalecarlicum. Urkunde rorande landskapet Da- 
lame, ed. C. G. Krdningssvard & J. Liden. Stockh., 1812-1853. 
3 vols. & Supplement. 1\ 

Contains documents relating to Dalarne from 1218 to 1500. 

Handlingar. See Stockholm. 



286 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Handlingar til uplysning af SvensJca historien, ed. E. M. Fant. 
Upsal., 1789-1802. 4 vols. 8°. 

Handlingar till upplysning af Finlands hdfder, ed. A. I. Arvids- 
son. Stockh., 1846-1858. 10 vols. 8°. 

Handlingar till upplysning i Finlands Kyrko-historia, ed. W. G. 
Lagus. Ny foljd. Abo, 1836-1839. 4 vols. 4°. 

Handlingar ur. v. Brinkmartska archie et pa Trolle-Ljungby, ed. G. 
Andersson. Orebro, 1859-1865. 2 vols. 8°. 

Historiska handlingar. See Stockholm. 

Historiska mdrkwerdigheter til uplysning af Swenska hdfder, ed. S. 
Lonbom. Stockh., 1768. 4 vols. 8°. 

Historiska samlingar, ed. C. Adlersparre. Stockh., 179,3-1822. 
5 vols. 8°. 

Konglige och furstlige fb'rlijkningar, foreningar, forsakringar, dag- 
tingan, forbund, forskrijffningar, legdebref etc., ed. J. Hadorph. 
Stockh., 1676. 4°. 

A valuable collection of Swedish public documents running to 
1523. 

Konung Gustaf den Forstes registratur. See Stockholm. 

Linkoping. Bibliotheks handlingar, ed. J. A. Lindblom. Lin- 
kop., 1793-1795. 2 vols. 8°. 

Contains a number of letters of Bishop Brask, badly edited, 
however. 

Monumenta diplomatica Suecana, ed. J. H. Schroder. Upsal., 
1822. 4°. 

Contains documents from 1441 to 1502. 

Monumenta politico-Ecclesiastica ex archiuo Palmskioldiano, ed. O. 
Celsius. Upsal., 1753. 4°. 

Nya Kdllor till Finlands Medeltidshistoria. la Samlingen, ed. E. 
Gronblad. Kopenhamn, 1857. 8°. 

Contains documents on the history of Finland from 1335 to 
1524. 

Odense. Fyens Stifts Literaere Selskab. Aktstykker til Nor- 
dens Historie i Grevefeidens Tid, ed. C. Paludan-Miiller. Odense, 
1850-1853. 2 vols. 4°. 

A very valuable collection of documents on the history of Den- 
mark, Norway, and Sweden, 1533-1536. 

Samling utaf kongl. bref stadgar och fdrordningar etc. angaende 
Sweriges Riges commerce, politie och oeconomie, ed. A. A. von Stiern- 
man. Stockh., 1747-1775. 6 vols. 4°. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 287 

A valuable collection of Swedish public documents running from 
1523 to 1746. 

Scriptores rerum Danicarum medii aeui, ed. J. Langebek. Haf- 
niae, 1772-1878. 9 vols. f°. 

Scriptores rerum Suecicarum medii aeui, ed. E. M. Fant. Upsal., 
1818-1828. 2 vols. f°. vol. iii., ed. C. Annerstedt. Upsal., 1871- 
1876. fo. 

Skrifter och handlingar til uplysning i Swenska Kyrko och Refor- 
mations historien, ed. U. von Troil. Upsal., 1790-1791. 5 vols. 8°. 

A very valuable collection of documents on Church matters. 

Smdlandska archivet, ed. C G. Sodergren. Vexio, 1853-1874. 3 
vols. 8°. 

A collection of documents relating to the history of Smaland. 

Stockholm. Kongliga Biblioteket. Tidningar om tarda saker. 
Ar 1767, ed. C. C. Gjbrwell. Stockh., 1767. 8°. 

Contains a few letters from Gustavus Vasa. 

Stockholm. Kongliga Riks-Archivet. Handlingar rorande 
Sverges inre forhallanden under Konung Gustaf I., ed. P. E. Thyse- 
lius. Stockh., 1841-1845. 2 vols. 8°. 

These documents are in the Royal Archives at Stockholm. 

Stockholm. Kongliga Riks-Archivet. Handlingar rorande 
Sveriges historia. la serien, Konung Gustaf den Forstes registrator, 
ed. V. G. Granlund. Stockh., 1861-1887. 10 vols. 8°. 

A most valuable collection of documents in the Royal Archives 
at Stockholm. Published thus far only from the year 1521 through 
1535. 

Stockholm. Kongliga Samfundet for Utgivande af Hand- 
skrifter rorande Skandinaviens Historia. Handlingar rorande 
Skandinaviens historia. Stockh., 1816-1865. 41 vols. 8°. 

A most valuable collection of documents from various sources on 
the history of Sweden. 

Stockholm. Kongliga Samfundet for Utgivande af Hand- 
skrifter rorande Skandinaviens Historia. Historiska handlingar. 
Stockh., 1861-1879. 11 vols. 8°. 

A most valuable collection of documents from various sources 
on the history of Sweden. 

Stockholm. Kongliga Samfundet for Utgivande af Hand- 
skrifter rorande Skandinaviens Historia. Sanding af instruc- 
tioner rorande den civila forvaltningen i Sverige och Finnland, ed. C. 
G. Styffe. Stockh., 1856. 8°. 



288 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Stockholm. Kongliga Vetenskaps-Academien. Praesidii 
tal om det forste lycklige tidehvarffor Sveriges allmanna hushdllning, 
under Gustafd. /.'s regering, af N. Bielke, Apr. 27, 1776. Stockh., 
1776. 8°. 

Contains a number of documents from the time of Gustavus Vasa. 

Supplement till Bishop Brasks brefvaxling 1527-1528, ed. J. H. 
Schroder. Upsal., 1854. 4°. 

Contains a few letters between Bishop Brask and Gustavus Vasa. 
Is supplementary to Brask's letters as published in Linkoping and 
in Handl. ror. Sver. hist., vols, xiii.-xviii. 

Svenska riksdagsakter jdmte andra handlingar som hora til statsfor- 
fattningens historia under tidehvarfvet 1521-1718. Ie delen, ed. Emil 
Hildebrand & Oskar Alin. Stockh., 1887-1888. 8°. 

Sverges traktater med frdmmande magter, ed. O. S. Rydberg. 
Stockh., 1877-1887. 3 vols. 8°. 

Theiner, Augustin. Schweden und seine Stellung zum heiligen 
Stuhl under Johann III., Sigismund 111. und Karl IX. Augsburg, 
1838-1839. 2 vols. 8°. 

Contains a few documents of the time of Gustavus Vasa relating 
to Church matters. 

Vestergotlands Forminnesforening. Tidskrift, ed. C. J. Ljung- 
strom. Lund, 1869-1877. 3 vols. 8°. 

Ostergotlands Forminnesforening. Tidskrift. Linkop., 1875. 8°. 



n. AIDS. 



[In this list are included the chief works hearing on Gustavus Vasa, and 
written during or since the year 1600.] 

Allen, Carl Ferdinand. Be tre nordiske Rigers Historie under 
Hans, Christiern den Anden, Frederik den Forste, Gustav Vasa, 
Grevefeiden. Kj<j)benhavn, 1864-1872. 5 vols. 8°. 

Anjou, Lars Anton. Swenska Kyrkoreformationens historia. Up- 
sal., 1850-1851. 3 vols. 8°. [Eng. trans., N. Y., 1859. 8°.] 

Archenholtz, Johann Wilhelm von. Geschichte Gustav Wasa's, 
Konig's von Schweden. Tubing., 1801. 2 vols. 8°. [French trans., 
Paris, 1803. 2 vols. 8°.] 



BIBLIOGKAPHY. 289 

Baazius, Johannes. Inuentarium Ecclesiae Sueo-Gothorum, con- 
tinens integram historiam Ecclesiae Suecicae libb. viii. descriptam. 
Lincopiae, 1642. 4°. 

Berdttelse om oroligheterna i sbdra Swerige, tilfolje af Nils Dackes 
upror, medfiera markelige handelser, som sig under K. Gustaf d. I.'s 
regering tildragit. Utgifwen efter et gammalt manuscript. Stockh., 
1781. 16°. 

Biographiskt lexicon bfoer namnkunnige Svenska man. Upsal. & 
Orebro, 1835-1857. 2 vols. 8°. & nya serien, Orebro & Stockh., 
1857-1883. 9 vols. 8°. 

Celsius, Olof. Konung Gustaf den Fbrstes Mstoria. 3e uplag., 
Lund, 1792. 2 vols. 8°. 

[Chapman, Rev.] The history of Gustavus Vasa, king of Sweden. 
With extracts from his correspondence. Lond., 1852. 8°. 

Expeditio Danica aduersus Holmiam anno 1518. [In Scriptores 
rerum Suecicarum, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 29-32.] 

From MS. of latter part of seventeenth century. Author and 
source unknown. 

Flaux, Armand de. La Suede au XVP. siecle. Histoire de la 
Suede pendant la vie et sous la regne de Gustave 1^. Paris, 1861. 8°. 

Forssell, Hans. Sveriges inre historia frdn Gustaf den Fbrste, 
med sarskildt afseende pa fbrvaltning och ekonomi. Stockh., 1869-1875. 
2 vols. 8°. 

Fryxell, Anders. Berdttelser ur svenska historien. Stockh., 1823- 
1848. 10 vols. 8°. [Eng. trans., Lond., 1844. 2 vols. 12°.] 

Geijer, Erik Gustaf. Svenska folkets historia. Orebro, 1832- 
1836. 3 vols. 8°. [Eng. trans., Lond., 1845. 8°.] 

Gieseler, Johann Carl Ludwig. Lehrehuch der Kirchengeschichte. 
Bonn, 1824-1853. 3 vols. 8°. [Eng. trans., N. Y., 1857-1880. 5 
vols. 8°.] 

Girs, Aegidius. Konung Gustaff's den I. och Erich's den XIV. 
chronikor. Stockh., 1670. 4°. 

Grubb, Christopher Lorenz. Breuiarium Gustauianum : thet ar, 
ett kort uthtogh aff K. Gustaffzden Fbrstes historia. Linkop., 1671. 
4°. 

Hallenberg, Jonas. Historisk afhandling om mijnt och icarors 
warde i Swerige, under Konung Gustaf I.'s regering. Stockh., 1798. 
8°. 

Hallman, Johan Gustaf. The Ticenne brodcr och Nerik8boer t 
som then Evan geliska laran infbrde uti Xorlandcn, (hen aldrt ILtt. 

19 



290 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Oluff Petri Phase, forsta Evangeliska Kyrkioherde qfwer Stockliolms 
stad, then yngre Mest. Lars Petri hin gamle, forsta Evangeliska Er- 
kiebiskop uti Upsala. Stockh., 1726. 4°. 

Hvitfeld, Arild. Danmarks Riges Kr<j>nike tilligemed Bispekrtf- 
niken. Ki(j>benhaffn, 1595-1604. 10 vols. 8°. 

Johansson, Johan. Om Noraskog. Aldre och nyare anteckningar. 
Stockh., 1875-1882. 2 vols. 8°. 

Kempenskiold, Samuel. Historiae serenissimi et potentissimi 
principis ac domini, Domini Gustaui Primi, Suecorum, Gothorum, 
Wandalorumque regis, libri V. Strengnesiae, 1648. 12°. 

Kempius, Samuel. Historiae potentissimi et Christianissimi prin- 
cipis ac domini Gustaui I. Strengnesiae, 1629. 8°. 

Loccenius, Johan. Antiquitatum Sueo-Gothicarum, cum huius 
aeui moribus, institutis ac ritibus indigenis pro re nata comparatarum 
libri tres. 2a ed., Holmiae, 1654. 8°. 

Loccenius, Johan. Rerum Suecicarum historia a Rege Berone ter- 
tio usque ad Ericum decimum quartum deducta. Holmiae, 1654. 8°. 

Messenius, Johan. Chronicon episcoporum per Sueciam Gothiam 
et Finlandiam. Cuilibet successiue dioccesi, ab anno DC CC XXXV. 
ad praesentem usque MDCX1. praesidentium uitam complectens. 
Stockh., 1611. 8°. 

Messenius, Johan. Scondia illustrate^ seu chronologia de rebus 
Scondiae, hoc est, Sueciae, Daniae, Noruegiae, atque una Islandiae, 
Gronlandiaeque, tarn Ecclesiasticis quam politicis ; a mundo cataclysmo, 
usque annum Christi MDCXII. Stockholmiae, 1700-1705. 15 
vols. f°. 

Meurs, Jan de. Historia Danica usque ad annum 1523. [In his 
Opera omnia, Florentiae, 1741-1763, 12 vols. f°., vol. ix. pp. 1-992.] 

Nouvelle bio graphie generate. Paris, 1862-1870. 46 vols. 8°. vol. 
xxii. pp. 863-872. Gustave I* Wasa, par A. de Lacaze. 

Paludan-Miiller, C. Grevens Feide. Kj<J>benhavn, 1853-1854. 
2 vols. 8°. 

Relatio historica de duobus Gustauis regibus Sueciae, auo et nepote, 
Augustanae confessionis, Augustis defensoribus. Das ist: historische 
Relation, von Ziveyen Konigen in Schweden, Gustavo dem Ersten, und 
Gustavo dem Andern. Stralsund, 1632. 4°. 

Reuterdahl, Henrik. Swenska Kyrkans historia. Lund, 1838- 
1866. 4 vols. 8°. 

Rhyzelius, Anders Olofsson. Episcoposcopia Suiogothica. Lin- 
kbp., 1752. 2 vols. 4°. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 291 

Romer, Rudolf Cornelius Heinrich. Specimen historico-theologi- 
cum, de Gustauo I., rerum sacrarum in Suecia, saec. XVI. instaura- 
tore. Traj. ad Rhen., 1840. 8°. 

Scott, Sarah [Henry Augustus Raymond]. The history of Gus- 
tavus Ericson, king of Sweden. With an introductory history of Swe- 
den, from the middle of the twelfth century. Lond., 1761. 8°. 

Strinnholm, Anders Magnus. Svenska folkets historia under 
konungarne af Wasa-atten. Stockh., 1819-1823. 3 vols. 8°. 

Svedelius, Vilhelm Erik. Om Konung Gustaf den Forste och 
hans tidehvarf sdrdeles de tvenne forste s.k. Dalkarlsupproren. 
Stockh., 1861. 8°. 

Sveriges historia frdn aldsta tid till vara dagar. Stockh., 1877- 
1881. 6 vols. 8°. Vol. ii. by Hans Hildebrand, and vol. iii. by 
Oskar Alin. 

Tegel, Erik. Then stoormechtighe, hoghborne furstes och Christe- 
lighe herres, der Gustaffs, fordom Sweriges, Gothes, och Wendes ko- 
nungs etc. historia. Stockh., 1622. 6°. 

Tengstrom, Johan Jacob. Nagra blad ur Finnlands Mf der for 
K. Gustaf I.'s regeringstid. [In Suomi, vol. xiii. pp. 101-287. 
Helsingfors, 1854. 8°.] 

Typotius, Jacobus. Relatio historica de regno Sueciae et bellis 
ciuilibus atque externis. Francof., 1605. 16°. 

Vertot, Rene Aubert de. Histoire des revolutions de Suede. 
Paris, 1695. 2 vols. 12°. [Eng. trans., Glasg., 1761. 8°.] 

Vingqvist, Olof . Om svenska representationen i dldre tider, till och 
med riksdagen dr 1617. Stockh., 1863. 8°. 

Weidling, Julius. Schwedische Geschichte im Zeitalter der Refor- 
mation. Gotha, 1882. 8°. 

Willebrandt, Johann Peter. Hansische Chronick. Liibeck, 1748. 
f°. 

Ornhjelm, Claudius. Relation om bispars, kanikers, praebendaters 
och closters jordegods. [In Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xxi. pp. 
218-279. 

From a MS. written by command of the king of Sweden in 1691. 

Ornhjelm, Claudius, and others. Relation, med bijlagde docu- 
menter, om biskops-canonie-prebende-sampt kyrckie och kloster-gods, 
och deras reduction. [In Handl. ror. Skand. hist., vol. xxi. pp. 280- 
357, and vol. xxii. pp. 313-418] 

From a MS. written by command of the king of Sweden in 1691. 



INDEX. 



Adrian VI., appoints Johannes Magni ' 
his legate, 126-127; death of, 128; 
orders Gustavus to restore Trolle, 134. 

Albert of Mecklenburg, king of Swe- 
den, 12-13. 

Amsterdam, Magni is sent to, 211. 

Anabaptists, fanaticism of, 165-167. 

Andrese (Laurentius), his friendship for 
Petri, 155 ; writes concerning Luther, 
160-161; is made archdeacon of Up- 
sala, 163; Gustavus writes to, 203; 
sends translation of Xew Testa- 
ment. 231 ; addresses Diet of Yesteras, 
248-249; is chosen to approach the 
king, 253. 

Andrese (Xils) is made prior of Veste- 
ras, 226. 

Apostles, authority of, 233-236. 

Arboga, Cabinet meeting at, 42; Gus- 
tavus quarrels with monks of, 241- 
242. 

Arcimboldo, is sent as ambassador by 
Christiern to Sture, 48-50 ; reappoints 
Ulfsson to the archbishopric, 56-57; 
his withdrawal from Sweden, 58. 

Aristocracy, origin of, 6-9. 

Armigers, origin of, 8. 

Assemblies (county), 4-5 and 8. 

Assemblies (provincial), 4-5 and 8. 



Baser (Sigrid), grandmother of Gus- 
tavus Vasa, 2. 

Bible, translation of, 221-223 : authority 
of, 233-236. 

Birgitta, grandmother of Gustavus 
Vasa, 3 and note 2. 



Bjelke, influence of family of, 16. 

Bleking, is invaded by Xorby, 178 and 
183-184; is granted to Xorby, 185; 
hostilities of Xorby in, 193-194; 
Xorby is driven from, 197-200. 

Bonde, influence of family of, 16. 

Brabant, privileges granted to, 211. 

Brask (Hans), places note under his 
seal, 103; joins the Swedish cause, 
103-104; avoids the Diet of Strengnas, 
113 ; is called upon to aid the crown. 
129-130 ; informs the pope that Church 
property is being confiscated, 133- 
134; is called upon to furnish aid for 
expedition against Gotland, 140-141 
and 142-143 : denounces Fredrik to 
Gustavus, 145: is oppressed by Gus- 
tavus, 149-150; charges Petri with 
heresy, 156; writes to Magni concern- 
ing heresy, 157-158; writes concern- 
ing Luther, 161-163: his love for the 
Church, 164; protests against the mar- 
riage of Petri, 169-171 and 224; sus. 
pects Fredrik,. 171 ; writes about 
Christina, 179; writes about Xorby, 
198; writes about Sunnanvii ! 
writes about the tax, 906; writes 
about the treaty with Holland, 210- 
211; writes about Dalarne, 213-214; 
opposes translation of the Bit 
223; his dispute with Gustavo 
a mona>tt-rv. 228; is oppresf 
Gustavus, 229-231; incurs wrath of 
Gustavus, 232; protests against dis- 
putation, 233; his art ion at Diet of 

IS, 24<l-2:.": fall of, 21 
his characti 



294 



INDEX. 



Brannkyrka, battle at, 51-52. 
Bremen, congress to be held in, 210. 
Brun (S«j>ren), capture of, 192. 



Cabinet, its origin and constitution, 
9-11; its encroachments, 11-25; 
slaughter of, 113; Gustavus admits 
foreigners into, 150 ; usurps authority 
in Diet of Vesteras, 257; its composi- 
tion under Gustavus, 271; is humbled 
by Gustavus, 273. 

Cecilia, mother of Gustavus Vasa, 3-4. 
Charles V. receives Christiern into 
Burgundian League, 80; Norby en- 
lists under, 200; signs treaty with 
Sweden, 210. 

Charles XII., his influence in Sweden, 
220-221. 

Christianity, introduction of, into Swe- 
den, 5-6. 

Christiern I., king of Denmark, 16-17. 

Christiern II., king of Denmark, his 
character, 33-34; his early life, 34; 
his passion for Dyveke, 34-35; his in- 
terview with Gustaf Trolle, 37-38; 
attacks Sweden, 44-45; is defeated 
by Sture, 45-46 ; seeks to form truce 
with Sture, 48-50; his expedition 
against Sweden, 50-51; is defeated at 
Brannkyrka, 51-52; treachery of, 
53-54; renews his efforts to recover 
Sweden, 57-58 ; appeals to the pope, 
62 ; sails with his fleet to Sweden, 71- 
72; lays siege to Stockholm, 76-77; 
enters Stockholm in triumph, 77-78 ; 
is crowned, 78-80; slaughters the 
Swedish magnates, 81-83; opposition 
to, 109; is deposed, 112; his failures, 
117; is charged with murderihg Swe- 
dish bishops, 126 ; opposition of Fred- 
rik and Gustavus to, 147; Norby's 
alliance with, 175 and 177 ; his efforts 
to recover Sweden, 190-193 and 198- 
199. 

Christina. See Gyllenstjerna (Christina). 

Christina, wife of King Hans, defends 
the castle of Stockholm, 22. 

Christopher of Bavaria, is elected king 
of Sweden, 15-16. 

Church, early encroachments of, 5-6; 



sides with Denmark against Sweden, 
17-25 ; riches of, 122-124; Gustavus op- 
presses, 149-150; is taxed to pay Lu- 
beck, 204; Gustavus opposes her on 
grounds of faith, 221-245; Gustavus 
deprives her of her power, 254-262; 
humiliation of, 271. 

Clement VII., pope, 136. 

Coinage, debasement of, 107-108; alter- 
ations in, 122 and note. 

Copenhagen, youth of Christiern II. in, 
34; Norby proceeds to, 185; Norby is 
asked to proceed to, 199. 

Dalarne, rebellion in, 15; Sten Sture 
gains support in, 20; Svante Sture 
is supported by, 23; description of, 
85 ; Gustavus seeks to rouse the people 
of, 85-87; Gustavus is recalled by 
the people of, 88-89; becomes the 
centre of the Revolution, 92; hardi- 
hood of people of, 93; Gustavus re- 
cruits forces in, 107; grievances of, 
153-154; conspiracy in, 176-177; 
efforts of Gustavus to stay discontent 
in, 181-183; dissension in, 213-215; 
impostor goes to, 218-219; Gustavus 
writes to, 227-228 ; Gustavus tries to 
appease, 242-246; Andreae condemns 
rebellion in, 248 ; Diet of Vesteras 
discusses rebellion in, 254-256 ; Brask 
is charged with conspiracy in, 263. 

Dalelf, description of, 85; Danish camp 
at, 93. 

Dantzic, Christina seeks aid from, 67; 
privileges granted by Sweden to, 114 
and 209-212; Christina's son returns 
from, 172. 

Denmark, struggle between Sweden 
and, 13-25, and 35-117; "klippings" 
repudiated in, 143. 

Dyveke becomes mistress of Christiern 
II., 34-35. 

East Friesland, privileges granted 

to, 211. 
Engelbrektsson (Engelbrekt), rebellion 

under, 15. 
Erik of Pomerania, is chosen king of 

Sweden, 13 ; his career, 14-15. 



INDEX. 



295 



Eriksson, takes part in storming of 
Vesteras, 96-98; of Upsala, 98-99. 

Eriksson (Nils), is placed in command 
of Kalmar, 174-175. 



Falun, Gustavus plunders, 92. 

Fathers, dispute concerning authority 
of, 233-236. 

Finland, Gustavus sends force to, 105; 
Norhy goes to rescue of, 106 ; Swedish 
possessions in, 131 ; is subdued by Gus- 
tavus, 138; Norby asks for land in, 
178; Norby is said to be about to 
attack, 198 ; Gustavus writes to, 199 ; 
her part in the treaty with Russia, 
207-208. 

France, her hatred of Christiern, 109. 

Francisco of Potentia, is said to have 
been made bishop of Skara, 137. 

Fredrik, duke of Schleswig-Holstein, his 
opposition to Christiern, 109 ; is chosen 
king of Denmark, 112; resigns his 
claim to Sweden, 131; delays matter 
of Gotland, 139-140; requests post- 
ponement of congress, 144-145; is 
said to be in league with Norby, 146- 
147 ; takes part in congress at Malmo, 
147-148; his relations with Norby, 
174-175 ; is deceived by Norby, 177- 
178; his treachery toward Gustavus, 
178-179; makes war on Norby, 184- 
185; grants Bleking to Norby, 185; 
his show of friendship to Gustavus, 
190-196; defeats Norby, 199-200; his 
action concerning Knut and Sunnan- 
vader, 200-202; negotiates with Gus- 
tavus, 215-217. 



Gad (Hemming), supporter of Sten 
Sture, 19; reconciles Svante Sture 
to Sten Sture, 21; is elected bishop 
of Linkoping, 21; his election is not 
ratified, 22; besieges Stockholm, 22; 
his character, 33 ; is captured by 
Christiern, 53-54 ; allies himself with 
Christiern, 75-76. 

Galle (Peder), professor in University 
of Upsala, 27; holds disputation with 
Petri, 168-169; Brask writes to, 224; 



holds another disputation with Petri, 
232-236; wrangles at Diet of Ves- 
teras, 252-253. 

Germanv, her share in the Reformation, 
119-120. 

Ghent, Magni goes to, 212. 

Gotland, Swedish Cabinet demands, 18 ; 
Gustavus plans expedition against, 
138-141 ; opening of war against, 145- 
146; decision of congress at Malmo 
concerning, 147-148; folly of expe- 
dition against, 150; Norby offers to 
surrender, 178; retains ammunition of 
Gustavus in, 192; is said to have been 
handed over to the Danes, 198 ; Gus- 
tavus demands, 217; Brask goes to, 
266. 

Gregory, authority of, 234-235. 

Gripsholm, Gustavus seizes monastery 
of, 226-228 and 244-245; Diet of Ves- 
teras discusses seizure of, 254. 

Guilds, in Stockholm, 30-31. 

Gustavus. See Vasa (Gustavus). 

Gyllenstjerna (Christina), marries Sten 
Sture the Younger, 24; her character, 
32 ; her bravery, 66 ; refuses to parley 
with the Danes, 67 and 68 ; battles with 
the Danes, 68-69; surrenders Stock- 
holm, 76-77; is summoned before 
Christiern, 82; is imprisoned in Den- 
mark, 83; her projected alliance with 
Norby, 172 ; is suspected of conspiracy 
against Gustavus, 179 ; is said to have 
been imprisoned by Gustavus, 181 
and 182; impersonation of her boy, 
218-219. 



Hans, king of Denmark, 17; his hos- 
tility to Sten Sture, 18-21 ; is recog- 
nized as king, 21; is forced to flee. 22; 
death of, 25; his words about Gus- 
tavus Vasa, 25-26. 

Hanse Towns, send aid to Christina, 69; 
are said to have sent stores to Chris- 
tiern, 94; privileges granted to, 114 
and 209-212; importance of Gotland 
to, 139 ; their share in the congress at 
Malmo, 175. 

Haraldsson (Magnus), is elected bishop 
of Skara, 133. 



296 



INDEX. 



Helgeandsholm, island near Stockholm, 

29-30. 
Holland, Christiern II. raises force in, 

198; Sweden forms treaty with, 209- 

212. 
Hoya (Johan von), infatuation of Gus- 

tavus for, 150; honors conferred on, 

152 ; is sent as ambassador to Russia, 

207. 



Italy, her feeling toward the Church, 
120. 



Johansson (Erik), father of Gustavus 
Vasa, his early history, 3-4; hostility 
to King Hans, 25 ; is member of Cab- 
inet, 26 ; is commandant of Kastel- 
holm Castle, 26. 

Jonsson (Bo), chancellor of the Swedish 
Cabinet, 13. 

Kalmar, landing of Gustavus at, 62; 
Christiern proceeds against, 72; rejects 
Gustavus, 73-74; is besieged by Vest- 
gote, 110; fall of, 112-113; Mehlen 
sails to, 148; liberality of Gustavus 
to, 149; Christina's son arrives at, 
172; Mehlen is deposed from com- 
mand of, 174; Gustavus writes to 
people of, 175-176; Christina's boy 
is kept in, 179; resists Gustavus, 179- 
180; treachery of Mehlen at, 186- 
187; siege of, 187-188; fall of, 189; 
wreck at, 194-195; Gustavus sends 
fleet to, 199. 

"Kalmar Recess," its nature, 18; viola- 
tion of its terms, 19 and 21. 

Kalmar Union, its formation, 13-14. 

Kalo, the place of imprisonment of Gus- 
tavus, 54-55 ; escape of Gustavus 
from, 59-60. 

Karlsson (Magnus), grandfather of Gus- 
tavus Vasa, 3. 

" Klippings," their character, 107-108; 
are forbidden by Danish commandant 
of Stockholm, 122, note; are refused 
by the soldiers of Gustavus, 128; 
Gustavus apologizes for, 132-133 ; are 
repudiated in Sweden, 143-144 and 
note; Gustavus writes to Dalarne 



about, 153; Gustavus is denounced 
for, 182. 

Knights, origin of, 8. 

Knipperdolling, fanaticism of, 165-167. 

Knut, is deposed from deanery of Ves- 
teras, 138; joins conspiracy against 
Gustavus, 177; is given comfort in 
Norway, 178 ; Gustavus demands sur- 
render 'of, 191; execution of, 200-203. 

Knutsson (Karl), regent of Sweden, 15- 
16. 

Kristersson (Johan), grandfather of Gus- 
tavus Vasa, 3. 

Krumpen (Otto), is placed in command 
of Danish forces, 63; makes treaty 
with the Swedes, 67 ; his ineffectual 
effort to subdue Christina, 68 ; defeats 
the Swedes at Upsala, 69-71; holds 
conference with Christiern, 76 ; is 
knighted by Christiern, 80. 

Kbping, battle at, 95-96. 

Lapland, Swedish depredations in, 208. 

Leo X., appoints Arcimboldo to sell in- 
dulgences, 48; appoints tribunal to 
investigate affairs in Sweden, 62; ex- 
communicates Sture, 62 ; is approached 
by Johannes Magni, 126. 

Lindholm, description of, 1. 

Linkoping, Gad is elected bishop of, 21 ; 
palace of bishop of, s besieged, 76; 
tax to be paid by bishop of, 205-206; 
is said to be at heart of conspiracy in 
Dalarne, 263. 

Louvain, University of, 126. 

Lubeck, flight of Gustavus to, 60-61; her 
hatred of Christiern, 109; sends fleet 
to Gustavus, 109-110; privileges 
granted by Sweden to, 114 and 209- 
212; debt "of Sweden to, 121 and notes 
1 and 2 ; demands payment of her loan 
to Sweden, 128-130 ; is asked to send 
delegates to congress at Malmo, 146 ; 
congress of Hanse Towns to be held at, 
148; captures Visby, 184-185; her 
position in the Swedish Revolution, 
190; is said to have fortified Gotland, 
198; her negotiations with Gustavus, 
203-206; tries to secure payment of 
debt, 213-215; her feeling toward the 
Reformation, 239. 



INDEX. 



297 



Lund, archbishop of, investigates affairs 
in Sweden, 62; accompanies Chris- 
tiern II. in expedition against Sweden, 
72, 

Luther (Martin), causes dread in Sweden, 
154: Petri becomes pupil of, 155-156; 
feelings of Gustavus toward, 158 ; An- 
drea? writes concerning, 160-161; 
Brask writes concerning, 161-163; 
danger of his teaching, 165-168; his 
translation of the Bible, 221-223 ; Gus- 
tavus says he has not adopted teach- 
ing of, 2*36-238 and 245 : his reforms 
are embodied in Swedish law, 246; 
clergy refuse to accept teaching of, 
247-248. 

Mag>t (Johannes), early life of, 126; 
is appointed legate by Adrian VI., 
127 ; is elected archbishop of Sweden, 
133 ; is ordered to Rome to obtain 
confirmation, 134-135; Gustavus writes 
about the pope to, 137; his efforts to 
repress heresy, 156-158 ; his share in 
the translation of the Bible, 222-223; 
banishment of. 239-240; comparison 
between Brask and, 266. 

Magni (Olaus), is sent to Rome by Gus- 
tavus, 136; is sent to Amsterdam by 
Gustavus, 211-212. 

Magni (Petrus), is elected bishop of 
Vesteras, 134 and 138. 

Malmo, congress at, 147-148; Gustavus 
is deceived at, 171. 

Margaret, becomes regent of Sweden, 
13 and note. 

Margaret, regent of the Netherlands, 
forms treaty with Sweden, 212. 

Margareta, is betrothed to Hoya, 152; 
is wronged by Fredrik, 215-216. 

Mariefred, monastery of, is threatened, 
76. 

Maximilian, his share in the Reforma- 
tion, 120. 

Mehlen (Berent von), swears fealty to 
Gustavus, 105; is given command of 
expedition against Gotland. 145-146; 
withdraw* from Gotland, 148; infatu- 
ation of Gustavus for, 150; fall of, 
173-176; treachery of, 179-180; his 
flight, 186-187; Lubeck defends, 204 



Melchior, fanaticism of, 165-167. 
Middle Ages, nature of, 118-119. 
Mora, Gustavus at, 87-89; Gustavus 

writes to people of, 181. 
Moscow, Swedish envoys are sent to, 

207-208. 
Malar, pours its waters into the Baltic, 

28; Gustavus takes up hiding-place 

on shore of, 75. 



Natt och Dag, influence of familv 
of, 16. 

Netherlands, form treatv with Sweden, 
212. 

Nilsson (Kristiern), great-grandfather of 
Gustavus Vasa, 3. 

Norby, is defeated by Testgote, 101- 
102; relieves Stockholm, 106: re- 
lieves Abo, 106; infests shores of Bal- 
tic, 109; attempts to relieve Stock- 
holm, 110; sails for Denmark, 112: 
makes depredations from Gotland, 
139 ; is charged with checking im- 
ports, 142 ; Fredrik is thought to be in 
league with, 145-148; Gustavus tries 
to delude, 171-172; his projected al- 
liance with Christina, 172-173; Gus- 
tavus denounces, 174-175 ; deceives 
Fredrik, 177-178; Gustavus is said 
to be in league with, 181; Dalarne 
conspires with, 182-183; invades Ble- 
king, 183-184; is granted fiefs in Ble- 
king, 185; negotiations between Fred- 
rik and Gustavus concerning, 191- 
193; his negotiations with Gu*tavu>, 
193-195; fall of, 197-200; his com- 
plaint to the grand duke of B 
208. 

North America, Revolution in. 273-275. 

Norway, Gustavus flees to, 88: Knot 
and Suunanvader flee to, 177 
Gustavus writes to Cabinet of. 191: 
pretended son of Sture in. 218-219. 

Nykoping, surrender of Castle of, 40-41. 



Olsson, take* part in storm;' I V - 
teras, 96-98; oi - ".'. 

Oxen«tjerna, influence of family »'f. 
16-16. 



298 



INDEX. 



Petri (Laurentius), early life of, 155; 
wrangles at Diet of Vesteras, 252-253. 

Petri (Olaus), his early life and char- 
acter, 154-156; is charged with her- 
esy, 156-157; is appointed city clerk 
in Stockholm, 163; holds disputation 
with Galle, 168-169; his marriage, 
169-171 and 221; holds another dis- 
putation with Galle, 232-236 ; is chosen 
to approach the king at Vesteras, 253 ; 
comparison between Brask and, 266. 

Poland, Magni is sent on embassy to, 
210. 

Popes, usurpation of, 23-4-235 ; Gustavus 
fears, 238-239. 

Prussia, Fredrik's daughter sails for, 
199. 

Reformation, general character of, 
119-120; spread of, 154-156. 

Rensel, enlists in the Swedish army, 102. 

Revolution, nature of, 90-91; evils of 
Swedish, 220-221; comparison of 
Swedish Revolution with others, 272- 
275. 

Riddarholm, island near Stockholm, 29. 

Rome, establishes archbishopric of Up- 
sala, 6 ; Gad is sent as ambassador to, 
33; her share in the Reformation, 
120; opposition of Gustavus to, 136; 
Magni plans return to. 159; Brask 
champions, 247 and 249; necessity 
that kings be sanctioned by, 268: Gus- 
tavus fears, 269; Swedish church be- 
comes independent of, 270-271 and 
273. 

Runn (Lake), Gustavus at, 85-86. 

Russia, is at war with Sweden, 17; is 
again at war with Sweden, 19; forms 
treaty with Sweden, 23 ; Norby flees 
to, 200 ; Gustavus ratifies treaty with 
207-209. 

Rydboholm, home of Gustavus Vasa, 
'3-4. 

Rattvik, Gustavus at, 86-87 ; skirmish 
of Danish horsemen at, 88. 



Scriptures, translation of, 221-223 and 
231-232; authority of, 233-236; are to 
be taught in schools, 260. 



Sigbrit, her influence over Christiern 
II., 35. 

Siljan (Lake), Gustavus at, 86-87. 

Skara, election of bishop of, 125 and 
133 ; Francisco of Potentia is said to 
have been made bishop of, 137; tax 
to be paid by bishop of, 206 ; part of 
Bible to be translated by Chapter of, 
222; Gustavus oppresses bishop of, 
264; bishop of Vesteras consecrates 
bishop of, 271. 

Slagheck (Didrik), is placed at head of 
affairs in Sweden, 91; concentrates 
his forces at Vesteras, 93 ; is removed 
from office, 103; is beheaded, 109. 

Sledorn (Henrik), professor in Univer- 
sity of Upsala, 27. 

Smaland, Gustavus seeks to incite the 
people of, 75. 

Sommar (Magnus), is elected bishop of 
Strengnas, 133. 

Stegeborg, is besieged by Vestgbte, 101- 
102; Gustavus inspects camp at, 102- 
103 ; fall of, 105 ; is granted to Hoya, 
152. 

Stegeholm, revolt in, 95. 

Sten. See Sture (Sten). 

Sten Sture the Younger. See Sture 
(Sten) the Younger. 

Stockholm, siege of castle at, 22; de- 
scription of, 28-31; is held by Chris- 
tina, 68; Christiern arrives at, 72: 
siege of, 75-76; Christiern's triumphal 
entry into, 77-78; festival in, 78-80; 
carnage in, 81-83; Gustavus fails to 
capture, 100-101; Gustavus again lays 
siege to, 105-106; Gustavus raises 
siege of, 106; Gustavus again lays 
siege to, 107; Gustavus continues 
siege of, 110-111; is captured by 
Gustavus, 115-116; desolation of, 
131. 

Strengnas, depredations at, 76 ; Diet of, 
113-115; election of bishop of, 125 
and 133; influence of Petri and An- 
drew in, 155-156 ; Magni writes con- 
cerning clergy of, 159 ; tax to be paid 
by bishop of, 206; part of Bible to 
be translated by Chapter of, 222; ad- 
dress at Vesteras by bishop of, 252; 
Gustavus oppresses bishop of, 264; 



INDEX. 



299 



bishop of Vesteras consecrates bishop 
of, 271. 

Sture (Sten), is chosen regent of Swe- 
den, 16; is opposed by the Cabinet, 
17-19; by Kiug Hans of Denmark, 
20-21; fall of, 21; is re-elected regent, 
22; death of, 22; Gripsholm Monas- 
tery is founded by, 227. 

Sture (Sten) the Younger, his war with 
Erik Trolle, 24-25 : is elected regent, 
25; recommends Gustaf Trolle for the 
archbishopric, 36-37 ; discoid between 
Trolle and, 38— i4; his peace negotia- 
tions with Christiern, 4S-50; battles 
with the Danes, 51-52 ; is duped by 
Christiern, 53-54; writes to Christiern, 
57-58; is excommunicated, 62; is 
wounded. 63-64: his death, 65; his 
character, 65-66; his body is ex- 
humed, S3 ; pretended sou of, 218- 
219. 

Sture (Svante). his hostility to Sten 
Sture, 18-19 : is reconciled to Sten 
Sture, 21; besieges Castle of Orebro, 
22; is elected regent, 23; is deposed, 
23; death of, 23." 

Stiiket, siege of. 20; dispute concerning, 
38-39; Trolle fort i ties, 40-42; siege of, 
43-44; fall of, 47-48. 

Sunnanvader (Peder), is deposed from 
bishopric of Vesteras, 137-138; con- 
spiracy of, 153-154 and 176-177; is 
given comfort in Norway, 178; Gus- 
tavus demands surrender of, 191; 
execution of, 200-203; Gustavus de- 
nounces, 237. 

Svante. See Sture (Svante). 

Svensson (Erik), is elected bishop of 
Abo, 136. 

Sweden, early constitution of, 4-5: in- 
troduction of Christianity into, 5-6; 
Reformation in, 121; is ruined by 
warfare. 220-221. 

Soderkoping, printing-press of. 232. 

Sodermalm, cliffs of, 28; Christiern 
pitches his camp at, 51. 



Taxation, exemption of knights ami 
annigers from, 8; is provided for by 
Diet of Strengnas., 115 and 128-12'.'; 



Gustavus apologizes for, 131-133; 
people's opposition to, 141-142; is 
provided for by Cabinet, 205-206; 
trouble in Dalarne about, 213-215 and 
242-244. 

Tetzel, his sale of indulgences, 120. 

Tiveden, battle at, 64. 

Tott, influence of family of, 16. 

Trolle (Erik), his hostility to Sten Sture. 
19; endeavors to be appointed regent. 
24-25 ; plans to have his son appointed 
archbishop, 36-37. 

Trolle (Gustaf), his character. 36 ; is ap- 
pointed archbishop of Sweden. 36-37; 
hostility to Sten Sture, 38-45: appears 
before a diet in Stockholm, 46-47 ; 
is taken prisoner by Sture. 47-48 : 
resigns his archbishopric, 57: becomes 
reconciled to Sture, 63; advocates 
declaration of allegiance to Christiern. 
67; holds conference with Christiern, 
76; denounces the Swedish magnates, 
81-82; endeavors to check the power 
of Gustavus, 94; captures Upsala. 99- 
100; retires to Denmark, 109; Swedish 
Cabinet writes to the pope about, 127- 
128; Gustavus writes to Rome about. 
135-136; Gustavus writes to Dalarne 
about, 154; is placed in command o 
Christiern's tleet, 198; Gustavus is 
said to favor, 245. 

Trondhem, archbishop of, protects fugi- 
tives, 196; returns Knut and Sunnan- 
viider, 201-202; relations between 
pretended son of Sture and, 218- 
219: translation of Bible is sent to, 
231; Magui communicates with, 239* 
240. 



CJLFSSON (Jacob), archbishop of Sweden. 
18; founds University of Upsala, 27: 
resigns the archbishopric, 36-37; is 
reappointed archbishop, 57: attends 
coronation of Christiern, 78; his ad- 
vice to Gustavus. 8 •'! 84. 

Upsala, siege of archbishop's palace, 
20; election of Sten sture at, 25; 
University o\\ 27; battle at. 69 7 1 : 
is captured by QustSVUS, 
recaptured by Trolle W I00j election 



300 



INDEX. 



of archbishop of, 133; heresy breaks 
out in, 156; disputation held in, 168- 
169 ; tax to be paid by archbishop of, 
205 ; Gustavus is crowned in Cathedral 
of, 271. 



Vadstena, expedition against Gotland 
is determined at diet in, 139-140. 

Vasa, family of, 2-3 ; influence of family 
of, 16. 

Vasa (Gustavus), his birth, 1-2; his 
coat-of-arms, 2-3; his ancestry, 2-3; 
his meeting with King Hans, 25-26; 
his boyhood, 26 ; his education at Up- 
sala, 26-27; is received at court, 31- 
32 and note ; takes part in the battle 
of Brannkyrka, 51; is captured by 
Christiern, 53-54; is imprisoned in 
Denmark, 54-55 ; escapes from Kalo 
Castle, 59-60; appears in Lubeck, 60- 
61; lands at Kalmar, 61-62; his pur- 
pose, 72-73; seeks to incite the people 
of Smaland, 74-75: solicits advice 
from Ulfsson, 83-84; flees to Dalarne, 
84-85; seeks to rouse the Dalesmen, 
85-87; flees to Norway, 87-88; is 
recalled, 88 ; is chosen leader, 89 ; 
recruits his army, 92-93; trains his 
soldiers, 94: captures Vesteras, 96-98 ; 
captures Upsala, 98-99 ; evacuates Up- 
sala, 99-100 ; his unsuccessful effort to 
take Stockholm, 100-101 ; superintends 
the manoeuvres of his army, 102-103 ; 
wins Brask to his side, 103-104; ac- 
cepts title of Commander of Swedish 
Army, 104; prepares ambuscade for 
Danes, 105; sends force to Finland, 
105; lays siege to Stockholm, 105- 
106; issues "klippings," 107-108; 
sends to Lubeck for a fleet, 109-110; 
continues siege of Stockholm, 110- 
111; recruits his forces, 111-112; calls 
diet at Strengnas, 113 ; is elected king, 
114; enters Stockholm in triumph, 
115-116; his successes, 117; charges 
Christiern with murdering Swedish 
bishops, 125-126; summons Johannes 
Magni, 127; is called upon to pay the 
debt to Lubeck, 128 ; calls upon Brask 
to aid the crown, 129-130 ; strives to 



improve condition of Stockholm, 131; 
endeavors to soothe the people, 131- 
133; writes to the pope for confirma- 
tion of the bishops, 133-134; writes 
to Rome about Trolle, 135-136; writes 
to Rome again and to Magni, 136-137; 
deposes bishop and dean of Vesteras, 
137-138; subdues Finland, 138; plans 
expedition against Gotland, 138-140; 
appeals to Brask for aid, 140-141; 
lays the odium of the new tax on 
Brask, 141-143; communicates with 
Fredrik concerning Gotland, 144-145 ; 
begins war with Gotland, 145-146; 
takes part in the congress at Malmo, 
147-148; oppresses Brask, 149-150; 
holds Cabinet meeting to improve 
trade, 150-153; his feelings toward 
Luther, 157-159; writes concerning 
Luther, 162-163; his purpose in op- 
posing the Church, 163; his treat- 
ment of the Anabaptists, 167; holds 
a disputation, 168-169; discusses the 
marriage of Petri, 170-171; deposes 
Mehlen, 173-176; tries to quell in- 
surrection in Dalarne, 176-177; his 
distrust of Fredrik, 178-179; his 
distrust of Christina, 179 ; is opposed 
in Kalmar, 179-180; summons diet 
to stay discontent, 180-183; fights 
Norby, 184; is displeased with Fred- 
rik, 185-186; captures Kalmar, 186- 
189; his negotiations with Fredrik, 
190-193 ; his communications with 
Norby, 194-195; his communications 
concerning Knut and Sunnanvader, 
195-197; his movements against Nor- 
by, 197-199 ; executes Knut and Sun- 
nanvader, 200-203; negotiates about 
debt to Lubeck, 203-206 ; forms treaty 
with Russia, 207-209; with Holland, 
209-212; negotiates with the Dales- 
men, 213-215; with Fredrik, 215-217; 
with the archbishop of Trondhem, 
218-219; orders Bible to be translated, 
222-223; oppresses the monasteries, 
224-226; seizes Gripsholm, 228; op- 
presses Brask, 229-231; denies charge 
of favoring Luther, 231 ; calls a dis- 
putation, 232-234 ; seeks to soothe 
the Dalesmen, 236-238 ; oppresses 



INDEX. 



301 



Magni, 238-240; oppresses Abo and 
Arboga, 240-242; communicates witb 
the Dalesmen, 242-246; humiliates the 
Church at Vesteras, 246-247 ; opens the 
diet, 248-249 ; resigns the crown, 250- 
251; watches his enemies, 251-252; 
is begged to withdraw his resignation, 
253-254 ; his demands are granted by 
the diet, 254-261 ; sends out announce- 
ment to the people, 261-262 ; oppresses 
Brask, 262-iJbtj; delays confirmation 
of the bishops, 269 ; sends out invita- 
tions to coronation, 269-270; consents 
to confirmation of the bishops, 270- 
271; is crowned, 271-272; considera- 
tions on his career, 272-275; bibli- 
ography of, 283-284. 

Vend Cities, alliance with Sweden, 23; 
privileges granted by Sweden to, 209- 
211. 

Vesteras, siege of, 69 ; fall of, 77 ; Dan- 
ish forces are concentrated at, 93; 
Gustavus captures, 96-98; castle is 
reinforced by Danes, 104-105; castle 
surrenders, 106; election of new 
bishop of, 125 and 134; fair at, 131; 
Gustavus deposes bishop and dean of, 
138; tax to be paid by bishop of, 206; 
trouble with the Dominican monks of, 
225-226; closing of mint at, 244; Diet 
of, 246-262; consecrates the other 
bishops, 270-271. 

"Vesteras Ordinantia," terms of, 258- 
260. 

"Vesteras Recess," terms of, 257-258. 

Vestgote (Arvid), lays siege to Stege- 
borg, 101-102; captures Stegeborg, 



105; besieges Kalmar, 110; captures 
Kalmar, 112-113; his depredations 
in Oland, 230. 

Vexio, tax to be paid by bishop of, 206 ; 
receives authority from Rome, 270- 
271. 

Viken, dispute between Fredrik and 
Gustavus about, 216-217. 

Visby, leader of the Hanseatic League, 
139; siege of, 146-147; Mehlen's con- 
duct in siege of, 173; is captured by 
Lubeck, 184-185 ; ammunition of Gus- 
tavus kept in, 192. 

Washington (George), comparison be- 
tween Gustavus and, 274. J^ 

West Friesland, privileges granted to, 
211. 

Wittenberg, Petri studies at, 155. 

Zealand, privileges granted to, 211. 

Abo, is beseiged by Gustavus, 105 ; 
forces of Gustavus are routed at, 106 ; 
death of bishop of, 134; election of 
bishop of, 136 ; tax to be paid by bishop 
of, 205-206; Gustavus quarrels with 
Chapter of, 241 ; is not represented at 
Diet of Vesteras, 246 ; bishop of 
Vesteras consecrates bishop of, 271. 

Oland, depredations of Vestgote in, 

230. 
Orebro, siege of castle at, 22. 



University Press, Cambridge: John Wilson & Son. 









.*> 



* -u 



^ jo 






C V* 















^ 



x ^. 



"U 






-/*< 




■ 






%* 



^ x - 



^>. 












% A 



A 

- 






V 






- V rL 



























j> -d. 






1 <, > 



C- V 









V 



* X A 


















' , o. 









clT" 






OCT 





















^ 












* ■% # x 



o o 






rL. 



o 







,0o. 






,, v 






^ 






3 O 































s 









I « * 

























wBSSSSBSSBSm 

JMvMMlflflilMH 




iMHUUUVMniBB BWI WMHM1 

HHH 



iimiiiii 

iBaisa aBdWMaB BBwc 

HI 
ra m 

HH 

ShSSHRSB hi 




ran £i&% 

Hfl awou o oa 

BBBB 

BBBaii Oft M HQB 

IB 

TKttMffllH 

HMMMMI 

HUH uh 

HHHh 
manor' 

HWMH 



I IRRARY np r.nMfiRF«S »■ 

ill 



029 970 962 



